


The Battle of Warszawa

by 3LNR, violinia



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: F/M, M/M, Murder Mystery, Mystery, idk it gets crazy, there's some drag too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-24
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2020-09-25 19:48:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 24
Words: 132,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20377123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/3LNR/pseuds/3LNR, https://archiveofourown.org/users/violinia/pseuds/violinia
Summary: Tolys Lauranitis, an anxious accountant stuck in a troublesome relationship, is someone who tries to fix everyone's problems. Despite constantly meeting with a demanding flower shop owner, Tolys is then given the task to help a dying bar nearby. There, he meets the eccentric owner Feliks Łukasiewicz, who doesn't have a lot of money left to his name. The two become fast friends and soon have interesting adventures. Meanwhile, there's a killer loose on the streets of Warsaw, and Eduard von Bock is determined to find the dreaded killer himself.





	1. It's Nice to Meet You

**Author's Note:**

> Please read the warnings in the end note!

As usual, it was an early morning for Tolys. 

The alarm went off at 6:30, and Tolys slowly crawled out of bed so he would not wake up his sleeping girlfriend, Natalya. She was never an early bird; working as a nurse on the night shift always made her tired and if she was accidentally woken up before her preferred time (9:37, to be exact), all hell would break loose. The young man entered the bathroom adjacent to the bedroom and quietly closed the door. He brushed his teeth, took a quick shower, dried himself with a towel and soon got dressed for the day. 

Natalya stirred from her sleep and opened her eyes with a scowl towards her boyfriend. “You make too much noise,” she hissed. 

Tolys sighed as he adjusted his tie; there was no pleasing her. “I thought I did well this morning,” he replied. “I was very quiet and everything.” 

“No,” Natalya snapped back. She sat up and leaned against the headboard. “Your footsteps are too heavy, you turn the water too high when you’re showering so it’s very loud. When you take a piss, the sound echoes against the walls. Your toothbrush is too loud. You…” Natalya continued to list every one of Tolys’ mistakes at that moment, to which Tolys began to ignore. She was always like this, every day. He knew she meant no harm, and that she had trouble expressing her love towards him. 

Or so he convinced himself, every day. 

“I’m sorry, Natalya,” he apologized, trying to put on his best smile. He leaned down to kiss her forehead. “I’ll be quieter tomorrow.” He made his way for the bedroom door. “I’ll see you later today. I love you.” 

“Make sure you lock the door when you leave,” Natalya replied, sinking back down under the covers. “And leave the coffee on warm.” 

Tolys closed the door, sighing as he walked down the stairs to the kitchen to fix himself a simple breakfast. First, he poured some coffee grounds into a filter and put water into the coffee maker. He then turned to the other side of the counter to pull out a loaf of bread, cut two slices and threw them into the toaster. In the refrigerator, they kept a minimal amount of fresh fruit in the lowest compartment; Tolys grabbed a pear and closed the refrigerator shut with his foot. 

_ Was that too loud? _ Tolys thought to himself, nervous that Natalya would come rushing down to yell at him. He waited a couple seconds to see if she would complain, but there was nothing. Tolys sighed with relief and took a bite of his pear. 

The toast popped up, and Tolys added some strawberry jam on top of the crisp bread. The coffee maker beeped, indicating that the coffee was ready. With a travel coffee cup filled with fresh coffee, toast wrapped in a napkin and a pear in his mouth, Tolys balanced everything he was carrying out to the car in the driveway. 

His car, a 1996 Jetta, was already unlocked so he opened the driver’s door and leaned in to place his breakfast carefully into the car. _ Did I lock the door? _ With a quick double check, the door was indeed locked. Tolys settled into the driver’s seat and fiddled with the ignition a couple times to bring the old car back to life. As he put his seatbelt on, he admired the BMW he had spent years saving up for. Unfortunately, when he brought it home, Natalya claimed it as hers, demanding that _ she _ deserved the new car. 

And so Tolys reluctantly drove Natalya’s old car. 

“One day, we’ll be reunited,” Tolys said, jokingly. He began to back the car out of the driveway, listening to the static-filled FM radio as he drove to the accounting office. 

His visit to the office was brief, however; he grabbed several files to take with him for his visits with his clients. As usual, Tolys’ first meeting was with Natalya’s older brother, Ivan, the owner of a small flower shop. There was no reason for Tolys to visit Ivan; Ivan ran his business well and had no outstanding financial issues. But Ivan always requested that Tolys come and have a meeting with him regardless. Tolys _ always _ obliged, because just like his sister, Ivan was _ terrifying _if you did not fulfill his requests. 

Tolys climbed back into his car and glanced at the second file. The second file was a new client, a new manager of a bar in town that was struggling to stay afloat. Honestly, the place was a lost cause, but that didn’t have to be the nail in the coffin. If Tolys worked his mathematical magic, he could at least help the person in need. 

Tolys parked in front of the flower shop and took a deep breath. He needed to be in the right mind to speak with Ivan. Closing his eyes, he let the sounds of people walking past his car and carrying conversations distract him for a moment. 

“Knock knock!” 

Tolys jumped and turned to the window on the passenger’s side to see Ivan peeking through the window. Hesitant, Tolys climbed out of the car and waved to Ivan. “Hello, Ivan. How are you today?” Tolys asked, forcing a smile. 

“I am well,” Ivan replied. He was wearing an apron covered in soil and had his hands behind his back. He towered over Tolys with his height and tried to soften his creepiness with a soft smile. “I saw you pull up to the curb and thought I would greet you.”

“Oh, um...that’s very nice of you. Shall we go ins--”

“Are you treating my sister kindly?” Ivan interrupted. “She’s not an easy person to keep happy, Tolys. You are very brave.” 

Tolys laughed nervously. “You say that every meeting, Ivan,” he muttered. 

“I know; I just want you to know that you’re a brave soul.” Ivan opened the door to his shop and let Tolys step in first. They walked through the small aisles that were filled with different flowers and plants, and Tolys was careful to not knock anything over. Soon, they reached Ivan’s desk, which was surprisingly organized. Tolys sat down in the chair in front of the desk while Ivan made his way to the other side. 

“So, from everything I can see here, your business is doing extremely well, Ivan,” Tolys said, opening Ivan’s file. 

“Thank you, Tolys,” Ivan said, folding his hands in front of him. “I’m glad to hear that.” 

“Well, we have a meeting once a week and nothing changes so…” Tolys mumbled. “I really don’t think you have anything to be concerned about in regards to your business.” 

“How long have you and Natalya have been dating again?” Ivan asked. 

Tolys thought for a moment. “2 ye--”

“It’s been some time now, hasn’t it?” Ivan continued. “Are you going to propose?” 

“Uh…” Tolys laughed nervously. “I haven’t...I haven’t really thought about it. Maybe?” 

Ivan nodded. He leaned back in his chair to open one of his desk drawers. He pulled out a stack of forms and placed them in front of Tolys. “There is a bar not too far from here that will be going out of business soon. I was wondering if it would be in my best interest to buy it.” 

Tolys raised an eyebrow. Ivan was referring to the bar Tolys was to visit and speak with the manager. How did he know? “Well, you can most certainly afford it. But, you’re a gardener. What will you do with a night bar?” 

“I want to get out of the gardening business,” Ivan stated abruptly, his smile widening. “Well, I don’t want to get rid of my hard work, but I will put someone else in charge while I take on a new hobby.” 

“It takes a lot to take on a new business, Ivan. I mean, you already know this after opening this shop. The bar would need a lot of revamping, new designs, new advertising. It would be a lot,” Tolys explained. “I would recommend buying it, if you’re interested, but only to expand your already existing business.” 

Ivan stared at him for a moment, his big smile unwavering. “I think I want to go into the night business.” 

Tolys gulped. “But you love gardening! I see you talking to your plants all the time! You even have a schedule where you play classical music for them because it helps them grow!” he argued. “Why give up something you lo--”

“I have my reasons.” 

Tolys waited for Ivan to list his reasoning behind his absurd new plan, but he never did. “Okay, um, well, why don’t we discuss this again another time? I have three more clients to get to this morning, then seven more this afternoon this evening. How does next week work for you?” 

“Tomorrow works for me,” Ivan said. “Same time?” 

“I-I actually have a meeting at this time tomorrow. My whole week is filled with meetings with clients and conferences at the office. Next week should be fi--”

“How about 10:30 tomorrow?” Ivan suggested. “Or we could do lunch.” 

“Tomorrow really doesn’t work for me, Ivan. We can do the same time next week.” Tolys said, defensively. 

Ivan hesitated. He slowly stood up and picked up a pair of gardening shears that was sitting on his desk. “Okay, well, I’ll let you move things around. Call me when you can confirm tomorrow at 10:30.” 

“That’s not how this works!” Tolys hollered, his frustration boiling over.

Ivan patted Tolys’ shoulder as he walked past. “Tell my sister I said hello,” he continued. “Oh, and be safe out there. I hear there’s a serial killer out and about. I wouldn’t want anything happening to you, Tolys. I like you.” 

“What?” Tolys asked, following him. 

Ivan stopped at a large pot containing a tall sunflower just to admire it. “Haven’t you heard? They’re calling the killer the ‘Puppeteer’ because he leaves his victims strung up as if they are puppets.” He looked to Tolys with a bright smile that chilled him to the bone. “Truly terrifying, right?”

“D-disturbing, yes,” Tolys agreed. He walked past Ivan quickly. “Well, I will see you again next week, okay? It’s a pleasure, as always.” 

Tolys walked out of the store before Ivan had the chance to say goodbye and hurried to his car. He hated speaking with Ivan for far too long; he was such a strange man. Especially after his comment about the serial killer, which came out of nowhere. As Tolys started the car, he saw Ivan standing by the storefront window in his peripheral, waving and watching him intently. Tolys gave a half-hearted wave back before pulling away from his parking space. 

Feliks woke up to his stomach growling. 

He laid on his back, staring up at the ceiling. Lately, Feliks hadn’t been feeling like himself. Today was the last day in his apartment, for he had run out of money again. Every last cent had been spent on trying to save the bar that he worked for every night in Warsaw. Suddenly, Feliks had become the manager for the bar because the old manager was jumping ship; she knew that it was a lost cause. 

But Feliks, someone who had lost everything several times in his life, desperately wanted to cling onto something for once. Even if it _ was _a dying business. 

The mattress Feliks laid on was bare and laying on the floor. He rolled off of the mattress and stood up. He cracked his neck and looked around his apartment. Certain that most of his belongings were now in the basement of the bar, his new home, so Feliks pushed the mattress against the wall. A former friend was kind enough to come over and drive Feliks and the mattress to the bar, so Feliks would have something to sleep on. 

The struggle dragging the mattress down the stairs in the small building was real. Feliks was a petite person, and bringing a twin size mattress down the set of stairs was nearly too much. 

At the bar and after putting the mattress down in the basement with everything else, Feliks sat down at the bar counter and fought the temptation to open a bottle of vodka. One of the peanut bowls that typically sat on the counter had a handful of peanuts resting at the bottom. Feliks hastily grabbed them and shoved them in his mouth. It would do nothing to completely cure his hunger, but it would at least stop his stomach growling for a split second. 

Reaching over the counter, Feliks grabbed the TV remote and turned it on to a news station. 

“Another victim of the ‘Puppeteer’ was found hanging off of the bell tower of a church today, with two pieces of rope tied around his wrists to make it look as if he is hanging like a puppet. The victim was 22-year-old Aleksander Kowalski who recently finished his Bachelor’s degree. It is clear that he was kept captive for several days before he was brutally murdered as he had several bruises all over his body, along with tiny cuts around his face,” the news anchor said. “This is the twentieth victim of who the police have been calling the ‘Puppeteer,’ and the police still haven’t found any leads to the identity of the serial killer. It is to be assumed that the killer is male, in his mid to late twenties or possibly his early thirties, and has incredible strength. If you think that you have any information about a potential lead, please contact the police at--” 

There was a knock on the door which broke Feliks’ concentration on the news story. He hesitated, thinking that whoever had knocked would realize their mistake and move on. But the knocking persisted, and Feliks hopped off of the bar stool to answer the door. Opening the door, Feliks met eyes with a man of average height with brown hair and green eyes. 

“Hello!” he greeted with a hesitant wave. “Are you…” He checked his manilla folder. “Feliks Łukasiewicz?” 

“Yes?” Feliks answered, confused. 

“Great! I’m Tolys Laurinaitis, your accountant!” He offered his hand. 

“I don’t...have an accountant.” 

Tolys opened his folder again and read through his papers. “Right, my apologies. The previous manager of this place had an account with our company and when she left, she gave us your name. They also had me take over the account as well. May I come in?” 

Feliks hesitated. “Actually, I was just about to head out for,” He paused, thinking about the time of day, “Breakfast. Or maybe brunch. Would you like to join me?” he offered. _ If he agrees, I get a free meal! _

Tolys hesitated and checked his watch. “I think I can do that…” he muttered. 

“Great!” Feliks cheered. He stepped out of the bar and slammed the door shut. “I know a really good place for brunch. Follow me?” 

Without waiting for Tolys’ answer, Feliks already started walking ahead in the direction of his favorite restaurant. Eventually, he looked over his shoulder to make sure that Tolys was indeed following him. As they arrived at the doorsteps of the restaurant, Feliks soon became self-conscious about his appearance when he caught a glimpse of his reflection. It was more than obvious that his sweatshirt was dirty and hadn’t been washed in several weeks. His hair was greasy, meaning he was in desperate need of a bath. Feliks did his best to shrug it off; he knew he’d get money again eventually. Once the bar was in better shape, all would be well. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever been to this place before,” Tolys said as they sat down. “What do you recommend?” 

Feliks opened the menu and thought for a moment. “Everything,” he answered decisively. “What’s the point of coming to a restaurant and not liking most of their food?” 

“I suppose that’s correct…” Tolys muttered, hiding his face in the menu. 

They sat in awkward silence as they browsed through the menu. Feliks had already decided what he wanted for a meal before he had stepped into the restaurant. So he set his menu down beside him and looked out the window. 

“Is everything with the bar okay?” Feliks asked, not bothering to look in Tolys’ direction. He hated talking to new people; it made him uncomfortable to bring up pointless small talk and to act “normal.” Plus, it made him feel extremely anxious pretending to be someone he’s not while getting to know someone new. 

“Well, it’s hard to say,” Tolys answered, setting his menu down. “It doesn’t look very good.” He paused, looking at Feliks’ blank expression. “I do, however, think it’s possible to save it.” 

Feliks sat up in excitement. “You think so?” he replied, smiling. “That’s wonderful news. What can I do, then?” 

Tolys cleared his throat and pulled up the file. “If I’m honest with you, your best option is to sell it. There is some value to the building because it’s historic, so you can sell it to someone else for a decent price.” 

“But,” Feliks frowned. “My whole life...is in that bar. I’ve worked hard there as an entertainer and everything. I can’t just give it all away. It’s my home.” 

“I know that this is hard for you, Mr. Łukasiewicz, but trying to save the bar yourself is risky and near impossible,” Tolys continued. “I do know someone who’s interested in buying. I could possibly arrange a meeting between the two of you…”

“Should I do more advertising? Maybe different theme nights? Trivia night, 80s night, BDSM night…” Feliks rambled. 

“You could try, but, I don’t think it will do much good, unfortunately.” 

“I’ve put everything into that place,” Feliks muttered. His hands were shaking as he was trying to suppress his emotions. “That bar is all I have. If it’s gone, I’ll have nothing. I won’t have anywhere to go.” 

“I know goodbyes are hard, Mr. Łukasiewicz, but it won’t be that bad. You’ll find a new job in no time,” Tolys said, trying to sound cheery. 

“Don’t call me that,” Feliks grumbled. 

“Call you what?” 

“Mr. Łukasiewicz. It makes me sound like a boring old guy,” Feliks put his face into his hands and took a deep breath. “Just call me Feliks.” 

Tolys smiled. “Okay. Feliks, then.” 

Soon the waitress came by to take their orders, and eventually, the two sat in silence again. Feliks drank all of the water in his glass in a matter of seconds and continued to look away from Tolys. All he could think about was how much he wanted to eat his food and leave; he wasn’t cut out for the business talk. Never had been. 

“Can you remind me what is it that you do at the bar?” Tolys asked. He leaned forward, trying to engage in a dead conversation. “I know you’re the manager and new owner, but what else is it that you do?”

Feliks glanced at him. “I’m an entertainer,” he mumbled. He never bothered with his true answer; people always had a vehement reaction to it. 

“What kind of entertainer?” Tolys asked, naively. “Dancer? Singer? DJ?” 

“Drag queen.” 

Tolys smiled unexpectedly and replied without hesitation, “Interesting. So you’re a bit of everything then, huh?” 

Feliks smiled back and turned towards him, finally feeling welcomed in the conversation. “Yeah, pretty much. Except for the singing part; I’m a terrible singer,” he said. “But I’m really good at dancing. I’m _ really _flexible.” 

“Did you go to school for it?” Tolys questioned, unraveling his napkin to set in his lap. “The dancing, I mean.”

“Yeah, and I won a _ bunch _of competitions. Even one in London!” Feliks sat on the edge of his seat. For the first time in a while, he felt happy. It had been years since he had discussed his childhood and training. 

“So what made you do drag?” 

“Oh, I just kind of fell into it. I’ve always felt different from everyone else and was called all _ sorts _of names growing up. But I found my niche at dance school, and they all introduced me to drag and well! Now I do death drops and splits and all the other cool stuff.” Feliks paused and frowned. “Too bad it’s not appreciated enough here.” 

The waitress came by and placed their meals in front of them. Tolys started to cut a piece of his meal with his fork. “Well, I think it’s pretty neat that you do what you love,” he stated. He chewed for a bit. “Maybe you can do something else with that?” 

“Like what? The only place for a drag queen is the nightlife,” Feliks replied, sinking into his chair. “_ Secretly _.” 

“Maybe not,” Tolys said with a gentle smile. “Maybe we can get you to perform at other local bars. That way you’re making a little more income.” He paused. “You have a different name? For drag, I mean. That’s how it works, right?” He reached for his water glass and began taking a sip.

“Roksana Pierogi,” Feliks answered with a grin. 

Tolys nearly choked on his water stopping himself from laughing. A bit of water dripped out of his nose. “_ Are you serious? _” 

“It’s good, right?” Feliks gloated. 

“It’s silly,” Tolys said, collecting himself. “But I like it.” 

The conversation continued on as they ate their meal. Feliks began to feel more and more comfortable around Tolys, allowing more of his true personality to shine through. When Feliks set his fork aside his empty plate, the waitress came by with a check. 

Feliks pretended to pat himself down for his wallet. “Oh, I think I--” he began to lie. 

“No worries,” Tolys said smoothly, immediately reaching for the check. “This is a business expense, anyway.” 

_ Did he already know? _ Feliks thought as he watched Tolys pull out his wallet from his pocket. With the check and złoty in hand, Tolys pulled out his phone and opened his calendar. 

“It was nice to chat with you, Mr. Łuka--, um, Feliks. Is there another time you’re available to meet? I can possibly squeeze you in this weekend...but next week is our better shot.” Tolys asked. He pushed his chair out and sat on the edge; he was itching to leave. 

Feliks shrugged. “Next week is fine.” 

Tolys nodded. “I’ll look to see if anyone else is interested in the bar and we can go from there.” He stood up. “I apologize that I’m leaving in such a rude manner, but I have another meeting to get to. Again, it was a pleasure, Feliks.” 

With that, Tolys walked away from the table, leaving Feliks alone for a bit. Eventually, he stood up and walked out of the restaurant with his hands in his pockets and walked back to the bar. As he stepped inside, he realized that he had forgotten to turn the TV off as it was still sitting on the news channel. It was on another segment about the “Puppeteer,” and Feliks quickly grabbed the remote to turn it off. 

“I’m sick of hearing about that jerk,” he muttered to himself. Feeling exhausted, Feliks wandered back down to the basement and laid down on his mattress for a nap. As he lay still, he couldn’t help but think of the warm, understanding man he had just met, and spent the next few minutes trying to remember the last time someone had shown the least bit of kindness towards him before dozing off into a peaceful nap.


	2. Negotiations

Tolys and Natalya laid next to each other, on their backs, so far apart that neither of them could reach each other. They had tried again to have sex like a normal couple, but once again, it was to no avail. Natalya’s personality was as cold as ice, and each time Tolys struggled to make sure she was pleased, she’d point out every flaw in his technique. Her constant belittling eventually caused Tolys to no longer be able to perform as he quickly became ashamed of himself. 

“You’re _ so _ useless,” Natalya hissed. 

“I-I’m sorry, Natalya. W-we can try again in a few minutes?” Tolys replied. He sat up to face her. 

Rolling over to her side, her back to her boyfriend, Natalya groaned. “There’s no point. You’ll just go soft again.” 

Tolys ran a hand through his hair. “Maybe...maybe I need one of those pills,” he said. It was embarrassing to think of it, considering he had never encountered this problem in previous relationships. “Or perhaps we should try a different position?” 

“I _ said _, there’s no point,” Natalya repeated, sterner this time. “Ugh, I don’t know what’s happened to you. You were so good and rough when we first got together. Now you’re as good as a soggy noodle.” 

“I-I know. I’m sorry.” 

“If I knew you would’ve turned into a worthless noodle, I wouldn’t be here.” Natalya sighed. “But for some reason, I love you.” 

Tolys smiled. She had never stated that before in their two years together. He moved over to wrap his arm around her, to spoon her, but she flinched. 

“What the _ fuck _ are you doing?” 

“I thought...I thought we were going to cuddle?!” Tolys replied, shocked. 

“Why would we do that?” Even though it was dark, Tolys knew she was glaring at him with visceral hate. 

“Because it’s what couples do. We love each other and want to be close to each other.” He touched her shoulder. “Can you at least...try to be more loving?” 

Natalya sat up. “What, you don’t trust me?” she asked. 

“No, that’s not what I said.” 

“You don’t think I _ love _ you?” Natalya said. “I’ve done _ everything _for you, Tolys. I’ve sacrificed my life for you. I let you into my life when I didn’t have to. And how do you repay me? By accusing me of not loving you. Do you know how much that hurts, Tolys?” 

“I didn’t--” Tolys protested. 

“You’re _ so _ungrateful. Sometimes it’s unbearable. And the fact that you can’t even stay hard for me makes me think you don’t love me enough.” 

“That’s not true!” Tolys’ shoulders slumped; he felt defeated. “I’m sorry I make you feel that way. I didn’t mean to.” He reached for her hand and held it tight. “I’m sorry.” He continued to apologize over and over because he knew nothing else he would say change her mind. 

Eventually, she kissed him, her hands trailing down his chest to his thighs. “Prove it, then,” she whispered, eyes sharpening with a look of domination he knew so well. She squeezed his balls and Tolys let out a small moan. “_ Prove _to me how much you’re sorry.” 

She squeezed again and Tolys cradled her jaw, kissing her intensely. He pushed her down against the bed and finally proved himself to her, after weeks of not being able to please her. 

There was a weirdo standing right outside of the bar. 

Feliks had noticed him hours ago when the unusually tall man was only walking past the bar every two minutes. It had started to drizzle outside, and Feliks thought that the stranger would eventually stop and go home. Instead, he stood in front of the bar, right near the front window as the rain poured down from the gathering clouds. The man’s clothes were completely soaked, his hair so wet that it clung to his forehead. 

Weirded out, Feliks opened the door and stood out underneath the small awning above the entrance. “If you need an umbrella, there’s a store down the street!” he hollered. 

The man turned slowly to face Feliks. “Hello!” he greeted, smiling. 

“_ Tak, cześć _!” Feliks replied with a half-hearted wave. “There’s a store down the street if you need an umbrella!” 

“How much is this place?” the man asked. He didn’t seem at all fazed that he had been standing still for hours and was completely drenched with rainwater. 

“What?!” Feliks replied. “That’s none of your business. Just walk down the street and get an umbrella!” 

The man turned towards him and began to approach the entrance. “For how much are you selling?” he asked again. As he got closer, Feliks realized he underestimated how tall the strange man was. 

Feliks took a step back and began to close the door. “It’s not for sale!” he shouted. 

Before the door could completely close, the man pushed it back open with all of his might, sending Feliks tumbling backward. He gently, calmly closed the door shut behind him and offered a hand to help Feliks up. Feliks refused, standing up on his own. 

“What's your deal?!” he hissed. 

“I’m Ivan,” the man said, putting his hand down. “You must be Feliks, yes?” 

Feliks gave no answer. 

Ivan tilted his head to the side, intrigued, and started to look around the bar. He walked through the small tables, wiping his fingers across each surface to check for dust. “I’m sorry, the sound of rain can be very loud. How much are you selling for this place?” Ivan asked. 

“It’s not for sale,” Feliks said firmly. “Would you please leave? Or else I’ll have to call the police.” 

Ivan wandered over to the bar counter and took a seat on a stool. “That’s not necessary, Feliks. I just came here to chat,” he said. He gestured to the other side of the counter, waiting for Feliks to serve him. Hesitant, Feliks obliged, waiting for Ivan’s order. “What’s your finest vodka?” 

“I--” 

“Doesn’t matter. I would like 5 shots of vodka, please.” 

Feliks grabbed 5 shot glasses and a bottle of vodka from under the counter, wisely choosing not to mention that it was far too early to be drinking alcohol. He quickly poured the vodka into each glass, hoping that Ivan couldn’t see how much his hands were shaking. 

Ivan picked up the first glass, stared at the clear liquid lovingly before guzzling it down. “I own a flower shop nearby and I’m thinking of trying a new business,” he stated. “I’m wondering if you and I could come up with a deal.” 

“Sorry, I stopped making deals with the Devil years ago,” Feliks muttered. 

Ivan laughed. “You’re funny. I like that.” He slid the empty glass back to its original spot. “From the looks of it, you have nothing. I, on the other hand, have a successful business and have money.” 

“Cool,” Feliks said, shrugging. _ An answer to a question I didn’t ask _. He set the vodka bottle aside and grabbed a damp cloth to wipe down the counter. He figured the less he spoke, the less Ivan had to attempt to manipulate him. 

“So, what do you think?” Ivan continued. He leaned forward and picked up the second shot glass. “_ I _think that we do a slow process. A slow change. You’ll still be a manager, for a bit, but I will share it with you. Slowly, I’ll be the new manager while you go back to doing what you used to do.” 

Again, Feliks said nothing. 

Ivan drank the second shot of vodka and sighed contently. “Or, considering you have nothing, I can offer you a second job at my business. Do you know where my place is? It’s called ** _Evergreen Gardens_ **. Two streets away from here. You should come visit sometime; I have many beautiful plants.” He took the third glass and drank it. “Or, your third option is to sell this place to me. What do you think?” 

Feliks turned away to toss the rag into the sink. He pointed to the door. “I think you should get the hell out of my bar.” 

Ivan’s smile never faltered, but Feliks could tell from the way his knuckles whitened on the shot glass that the oddball was beginning to get frustrated. _ I wonder how long it will take him to crack? _

“I’m doing you a favor, Feliks, don’t you see?” Ivan said, lifting the fourth glass to the light and examining it closely. “You wouldn’t want to get sucked into a deadly pit along with this place, would you? I’m giving you several ways out of your own destruction.” 

“Who asked you?” Feliks replied. “Certainly not me.” 

Ivan slammed the shot glass onto the counter, spilling vodka everywhere. Feliks jumped at the sudden act of violence and took a step back in preparation of a fight. “I’m only going to say this once, Feliks, so listen very carefully,” Ivan whispered. His smile was even more chilling than Feliks had seen before. “I am going to buy this place. You will sell it to me one way or another. You have three options. Which one will you take?” 

Feliks replied without thinking. “The fourth one where you get the hell out of my bar.” 

Ivan squeezed the shot glass that was in his hand so hard, it shattered. Feliks stared in shock, his hand searching behind him for a last-minute weapon. Ivan simply stood up, took out his wallet and first laid a 100 złotych on the counter along with his business card. “I’ll give you some time to think it over; how’s that?” he said, walking towards the exit. “You will call me within a week.” He paused and looked over his shoulder with that same sickening smile. “And don’t make me come back. You wouldn’t want to see me angry.” 

Feliks snatched the 100 złotych note. “Hey, you forgot your change! Vodka isn’t that much!” He hated the thought of already being indebted to this terrifying, childish, possibly crazy stranger. 

A high-pitched giggle echoed through the bar. “Oh, that’s not for the alcohol,” Ivan said, opening the door. “That’s for you, and your pathetic life.” 

When the door slammed shut, Feliks seized the business card off the counter, ripped it to shreds and tossed it into the trash bin before downing the last shot of vodka that remained on the table. 

Tolys found himself rushing from his car in the parking lot to the small cafe due to the pouring rain. The pavement was slippery, and at times he was sure he was going to fall but he was sure to catch himself. 

In the dry cafe, the crowd was squashed towards the front counter as everyone was trying to fit inside rather than flood outside. Tolys looked above the heads to see if he could find his friend already seated. Thankfully, he saw a hand waving from the back and he wiggled his way to the back booth. 

“I'm so sorry I'm late, Eduard,” Tolys apologized. “This flash rain is crazy.” 

“Tell me about it,” Eduard groaned. He slid a coffee to-go cup towards him. “Here, I got you your favorite.” 

Tolys took a sip of the coffee and sighed. “There’s nothing better than a good cup of coffee, huh?” he said. “How have you been? It’s been so long since I've seen you.” 

“Ah, you know. Same ol’, same ol’. Writing this article. Writing that article.” Eduard replied. “I've been trying to find any leads on this ‘Puppeteer’ guy for weeks and there’s nothing!” 

“I know, it’s getting really bad, isn’t it? A fucking bell tower? How does someone even think of that?” Tolys agreed, appalled. 

“At first I was excited about the whole thing. I mean do you know how good of a story this is? But now every article I write is speculation and is barely worth my time,” Eduard said with a sigh. “How’s life with you? Work is alright?” 

Tolys nodded, taking another sip of his coffee. “Yeah, everything’s good. I’m trying to decide if I should propose to Natalya or not.” 

Eduard huffed and looked away. “Is that so?” he asked. He didn’t sound amused. “Marriage is a big commitment.” 

“Well, it will just make what we have official. I know you don’t care for her--” 

“Never have, never will,” Eduard stated bluntly. 

“--But she is really sweet and kind, and gentle.” 

Eduard rolled his eyes. “I’ve never seen it.” He tapped the side of his coffee cup. “You deserve better, Tolys.” 

“Just because you’ve never seen her being nice or you think she’s mean…”

“I think she’s abusive, but okay, sure.” 

Tolys hesitated for a second; he had always known that Eduard and his other friends did not like Natalya from the very beginning. But he would have never guessed that Eduard believed Natalya was abusive. That thought alone was far from the truth. “It doesn’t mean that she’s abusive. I’ve seen a softer side of her. She’s just...overly critical and particular.”

Eduard shook his head. “I get that’s she’s incredibly beautiful, has nice boobs, likes to be rough or whatever and I know that’s kind of your thing, but her..._ pickiness _is a red flag for me,” he argued. “Not to mention her brother is just as weird and creepy.” 

“Yeah well, I love her and she loves me,” Tolys said defensively. 

“Oh, does she?” Eduard asked. 

“She said it last night after everything so _ there _.” 

“Was it the first time _ ever _ in _ two years _?” 

Tolys hesitated, trying to remember if Natalya had said it any time before that. “That’s beside the point.” 

“Tolys _ come on _ ! You two have been dating for two years straight and she just _ now _said ‘I love you’? That’s a red flag!!” 

“I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” Tolys groaned. “We came here to catch up. Your life has to be crazy besides the whole ‘Puppeteer,’ right? Anyone special in your life?”

Eduard sighed, pushing his half-empty to-go cup around. “No, there’s really no one. I wanted to see if you had any clues about the killer.” 

Tolys sat back in his chair and stared in confusion. _ Why would _ I _ have any information about the killer _? He simply shook his head as an answer.

“I know what you’re thinking; why would I think you know anything?” Eduard continued, scratching the back of his head. “But with more and more victims showing up, and the more frequent the murders get, the quicker this case gets complicated. I’m ruling no one innocent anymore; soon, this person is going to end up killing all of Warsaw.” 

“So what, you’re just asking anyone and everyone if they know who the killer is?” Tolys asked, laughing nervously. “That’s bold, Ed.” 

“I’ve interviewed the families, with all due respect, of course. If they didn’t want to answer my questions, I left them alone. However, all of the victims’ friends and family don’t seem to have any clue who could have killed them. With minimal clues left behind, they all seem surprised at how secretive the victims’ lives were.” Eduard shook his head and removed his glasses to rub his eyes. “Crime shows make it look really easy, huh? Just find the one common denominator and you’ll solve the mystery. But no, it doesn't work that way.”

“Can’t you just...leave it to the cops?” Tolys asked. Eduard always had odd interests since Tolys knew him. Eduard gained a fascination with serial killers some time ago, and Tolys didn’t want to understand how _ anyone _could be intrigued about morbid things.“That’s their job, right?” 

Eduard put his glasses back on and gave Tolys a look of judgment. “Haven’t you heard all of the stories of the big serial killers? How many times did the police pass Jeffrey Dahmer and could have caught him earlier? Or how about the times Ted Bundy escaped from prison? Law enforcement is practically _ useless _when it comes to serial killers.” 

“That all happened in America, though,” Tolys argued, shrugging. “Plus we’re further along and have better technology…”

“Twenty victims, Tolys,” Eduard reminded him. “And who knows, there could be more that haven’t been discovered. That’s always the case with serial killers.” He began to gather his belongings. “Besides, the ‘famous’ serial killers are American, yes, but there are plenty of others that come from Europe. Andrei Chikatilo or Peter Kürten for starters. Or how about the famous unsolved case of all time? Jack the Ripper? How about the couple Fred and Rose West? Dennis Nilsen? Or how about one of the most disturbing cases I’ve ever read? The Soap Maker of Correggio, Leonarda Cianciulli?” Eduard paused and grimaced. “Do you know what _ she _ did, Tolys?” 

Tolys simply shook his head; he wanted Eduard to stop talking. 

“She made people into soap! She’d drug her victims, kill them, chop up the body parts, boil them down and make them into soap. And she’d give the soap to her neighbors! She also turned them into tea cakes and _ ate _ them. That’s right. _ Ate _human flesh. And shared amongst her neighbors!” 

Tolys gasped. “Why?!”

“She believed that if she sacrificed other human lives that a higher being or the universe or whatever would spare her son who was fighting in the Italian army during WWII.” 

“What the fuck…” Tolys whispered, gathering up his stuff as well. “But I really don’t think you need to obsess over this, Ed. Write about something else. Like...well, write about the history of serial killers. Or how to identify one? Just...don’t stress yourself out over this.” 

Eduard thought for a moment, staring down at his shoes. “I just want to do my part, Tolys,” he said, softly. He put his computer bag over his shoulder, gave Tolys a hug and began walking over to the door. “Oh, um, I guess give Natalya my regards,” he added, looking over his shoulder. 

“Yeah, I will,” Tolys said. He put his hands in his pockets and smiled. “We should have you over for dinner sometime.” 

Eduard nodded and continued his way through the crowd to the exit of the cafe. Tolys took a sip of his remaining coffee before tossing his and Eduard’s cups into the trash. 

Sprinting back to his car, Tolys heard his cell phone ring. Once he was inside his car and closed the door behind him, he pulled his phone out from his pocket. Immediately he groaned when he read the caller ID. Reluctantly, he answered. 

“Tolys speaking,” he answered. 

“You never called,” Ivan said. His tone of voice was neither angry or sad, just mildly annoyed. 

“Ah, s-sorry, Ivan. I told you my day today is filled.” Tolys pulled on his seatbelt and started the car. “Please don’t take it personally or anything. Does next week work for you? Our usual time?” 

“No, I want to discuss this now,” Ivan said, sternly. “Can you come over to my place now?” 

“I really can’t,” Tolys stammered. “You’re not my only client, Ivan.” 

“I spoke to the manager and owner of that bar I want. He doesn’t know what he’s doing.” 

“_ Why _ would you do that?!” Tolys snapped. The thought that Ivan forced his way into that bar and talked to Feliks Łukasiewicz about God knows what frustrated him. “The matter that you want to buy the bar only concerns _ you _ right now. No one else.” 

“I just wanted to start negotiations,” Ivan replied brightly. “There’s no harm in that.” 

“_ Yes, _ there is, Ivan!! There are legal ways to do this! Mr. Łukasiewicz could legally make sure that you can’t come anywhere near the bar!” 

“I think he prefers to be called Feliks,” Ivan said. Tolys moved his phone away from his ear and stared at it in confusion. _ That’s weird. _There was no way Ivan would be on a first name basis already with Mr. Łukasiewicz. “Besides, I don’t think he knows how to handle anything. He’s rather dumb.” 

“His intelligence has nothing to do with this, okay? Stay away from the bar and leave Mr. Łukasiewicz alone.” 

“You mean Feliks.” 

“Yes! Feliks! Leave him alone!” 

Tolys hung up and tossed his phone into the passenger seat angrily. _ The nerve of that man _, he fumed inwardly as he pulled out his parking space. He drove out of the cafe’s parking lot and turned onto the main road where he came to a stop light. His phone started ringing again. This time he didn’t bother to look at the caller ID as the light had turned green.

“Tolys speak--” 

“_ Don’t _ hang up on me,” Ivan growled through the receiver. “It’s _ very rude _.” 

“Look, Ivan, I’ve been very cordial with you an--”

“The two of us will be meeting today. Whenever you have time. Understood?” Ivan added, ignoring Tolys. 

“I don’t have time today!” Tolys repeated. 

“Then _ find _time.” Ivan paused, waiting to hear if Tolys wanted to object. “Call me when you’re on your way. That way, I can make sure to make some coffee for you. Do you like cookies and strawberry jam? I followed my grandmother’s recipes last night just for our meeting.” 

“H-how thoughtful…” Tolys’ voice trailed off. He didn’t understand why Ivan was suddenly acting so erratic. Sure, the guy was strange, but he was _ never _ this way before. _ Did he forget to take his medication or something? _ Tolys asked himself. “I-I’ll see what I can do. I won’t really be available until tonight.” 

“Okay, that’s no problem.” Ivan appeared to have forgotten his fit of anger had even happened.. “I’ll give Natalya a call and say that I’ll be over for dinner.” 

“What?!” 

“See you then, Tolys. Bye-bye for now.” 

This time, Ivan hung up, leaving Tolys completely dumbfounded as to what had just happened. He calmly set his phone aside as drove to his next client’s house, which only took five minutes. On the drive there, he contemplated about Ivan’s oddities; he was always demanding, always creepy and always cryptic. Never once did Tolys hear a story about Ivan’s and his sister’s childhood, though they both seemed to know everything about Tolys. Not to mention, Tolys couldn’t remember if Ivan ever had a social or a love life once he closed up his own shop.

Was that enough to make him a criminal? 

Once Tolys finished parallel parking and his heart rate had calmed down a bit, Tolys picked his phone back up to send a text message to Eduard: 

_ Have you ever considered Ivan to be the killer? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo, Ivan, what the f*ck? 
> 
> Hey guys! I forgot how long two weeks feel when you're on an upload schedule. I was tempted to post this chapter last week because I myself was feeling impatient. But, I know in the long run, giving Ellie and myself extra time to work on the remaining chapters as well as rereading them before we upload is the best choice. 
> 
> Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this chapter! I've had a long day, and I'm relaxing by uploading this chapter as well as enjoying a glass of wine. Please feel free to leave a comment (or a critique! We accept critiques!). We do our best to reply ot all of them! 
> 
> -Katelyn (violinia) and Ellie (TheCrystalFalls)


	3. New Roomie

It wasn’t until close to dinner time when Eduard finally responded to Tolys’ absurd, impulsive text. Tolys knew that Ivan wasn’t the killer, nor could he be.  _ Right? _

_ Honestly, I’ve never considered him. He fits the profile perfectly, actually. Tall, strong, in his mid-twenties. I’ll investigate his background. Thanks! _

Tolys groaned; he already regretted the message. He had sent it when he was angry with Ivan for being so demanding and he took it out on him in the worst way. Eduard would do anything to find something against Ivan because he believed him to be the creepiest person alive. At this point, Eduard was  _ hungry  _ for a new lead. Tolys sent a new message: 

_ Hey, look...I wrote that message when I was angry. Ivan had called me and demanded a meeting. I shouldn’t have sent it. Could you disregard it?  _

He sighed when he heard the doorbell ring and the echo of Natalya’s heels clicking against the floor as she went to open it. When Tolys stepped out of the dining room and into the foyer, Natalya and Ivan were speaking to each other in hushed Russian. 

Tolys had made the attempt to try to learn Russian awhile ago so he could keep up with Natalya’s and Ivan’s rapid conversations. But Natalya made sure to see the end of it rather quickly. 

Tolys cleared his throat to bring attention to himself, they immediately stopped, both of them glaring at him for interrupting their conversation. 

Ivan, however, was the first one to smile. As always. “Good evening, Tolys. It’s so good to see you.”

“Uh, it’s good to see you as well,” Tolys said, his voice wavering. “Can I get you a drink?” 

“I’ll get it,” Natalya said quickly. “Ivan, follow me,” She made the effort to turn and glare at her boyfriend as she walked past to the kitchen. “We  _ weren’t _ done talking.” Ivan hesitated in following his sister, and as he started to make his way to the dining room, Natalya shouted his name. Ivan sighed and went into the kitchen. 

“Right,” Tolys sighed once again. “I’ll just wait in the dining room.” 

All of the food was set on the table with steam rising slowly. Natalya had cooked a delicious meal as the room was filled with different aromas of potatoes, onions, garlic, and roasted pork. The meal smelled good, Tolys couldn’t deny it, but with all of his worrying about Ivan pushing to buy this bar, the potential meetings involving Ivan  _ and  _ Feliks (who clearly had no intentions of selling the bar), and of course the problems with his lovely girlfriend, his stomach felt nauseous. 

There was just too much on his mind. 

Tolys’ train of thought was broken when Natalya came barging into the dining room, still speaking in Russian to her brother and sat down. She glanced over at Tolys, forced a smile and picked up his plate. “How was your day?” she asked, politely. 

Tolys hesitated. “It was good. Busy. Eduard says hello.” 

“Eduard? You mean spineless Eduard?” Natalya replied. She scooped up some of the food in the dish and placed it on Tolys’ plate without breaking her stern gaze on Tolys. “Is  _ he  _ the reason you couldn’t meet with Ivan earlier today?” 

“No,” Tolys lied. “I had another meeting. I met with Eduard after lunch.” She looked at him with skepticism and handed him his plate. 

“It all doesn’t matter; we are meeting now. That’s what counts,” Ivan chimed in. Natalya picked up Ivan’s plate as well and gave him some of the dish. Once she had finished serving up the meal, they all continued to eat in awkward silence. It was usual for dinner to be quiet between Tolys and Natalya, but it was  _ unbearably  _ quiet with Ivan in the room. 

Both Natalya and Ivan finished their meals before Tolys did; his stomach was just not having it. “Do you not like it or something?” Natalya asked, slightly perturbed. 

“No, no, it’s delicious. My stomach is just in knots today,” Tolys murmured. 

Natalya’s annoyance relented as she sympathetically nodded. Suddenly, she seemed caring. “You’re stressed,” she said, collecting everyone’s plates. “I’ll grab you some tea, then.” She quickly left the room, leaving Ivan and Tolys sitting at opposite ends of the table in silence. Tolys scratched the back of his head. 

“Um...so did you have a good day?” he asked Ivan. 

“Oh, yes. I hired a new employee today. Very nice kid,” Ivan answered happily. “Though, he’s a bit clumsy. And he says silly things.” 

“Like what?” Tolys asked. 

“Silly things,” Ivan stood up and moved to a seat closer to Tolys, invading his personal space with ease. As he sat down, his head nearly bonked against the light that hung over the dining table. “It’s silly to sit so far apart when you’re having an important conversation, right?” 

Tolys laughed nervously. 

Ivan folded his hands and rested them on the table. “So, remind me, how do you know Feliks?” he asked. 

“Oh, um...he’s another client of mine.” 

Ivan raised his eyebrows, intrigued. “So you could arrange a formal, business meeting between the two of us.” 

“Only if Mr. Łukas--, I mean Feliks, is open to it,” Tolys clarified. “When I met with him yesterday, he didn’t seem to be open to the idea.” 

“I don’t understand why he wouldn’t be,” Ivan concluded. “That place has been dying for years, and I think Feliks has gotten himself into a hole that he can’t get out of. But he won’t admit it to anyone.”

Tolys narrowed his eyes in suspicion; since  _ when  _ did Ivan have friends? And  _ how  _ did he know so much about Feliks Łukasiewicz? “What do you mean by ‘has gotten himself into a hole?’ He seemed to be in good spirits yesterday.” 

“I said he won’t admit it,” Ivan added. He smirked. “He has no money.” 

“Did he tell you this?” 

Ivan hesitated, fidgeting. “I’ve been watching him closely. For the past several months, actually. His demeanor has gone from fun and wild to calm and collected suddenly. He’s moved into the bar because any income he gets goes to trying to save the bar. So he can’t afford a proper place to live.” He paused, his eyes growing distant. “As I said, he won’t admit it if you ask him directly.” 

Tolys had a tough time believing Ivan’s claim about Feliks. If the two  _ just  _ met, how could Ivan truly know this about the eccentric bar owner? “I’m sorry, but how long have you been friends with Feliks?” 

“Oh, I’ve only just met him,” Ivan replied, looking back to Tolys. “Do you think you can set up a meeting for the two of us? I’d like this to be done as soon as possible.” 

“I need to advise Feliks first,” Tolys explained. “If it’s true that he’s run out of money, selling the bar isn’t going to solve all of his problems. He will need  _ a lot  _ of financial advising.” 

“But you can do that quickly, yes?” Ivan asked, leaning in. 

Tolys closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I’ll see what I can do, Ivan. But I’m not making any promises.” 

Ivan frowned and leaned back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling. “How long do you think it will take, then?” 

“Why are you so hung up on this?” Tolys blurted. He instantly regretted his words as Ivan quickly scowled at him, irritated. “Sorry, sorry. I’ve had a long day,” Tolys said, trying to reconcile his blunt words. He ran his hands over his face and groaned. “It could be as quick as a couple of months to as long as a couple of years. Maybe more. I’m guessing it will be closer to the longer side.” 

At this point, Natalya came back with a cup of tea she had made for Tolys. She gently placed the cup in front of him and sat back down. “Is everything alright?” she asked, crossing her legs. 

“Yes, we’re just...discussing business matters,” Tolys answered. “Thank you for the tea.” 

For once, Natalya smiled warmly. The room went quiet again, with the three of them sitting fidgeting in their seats. Soon Ivan stood up and put his hands in his pockets. 

“Well, give me a call tomorrow with an update, Tolys,” he said, making his way to the front door. He glanced at his sister. “Dinner was delicious, Natalya.” 

Natalya stood up to hug her brother goodbye. They muttered something in Russian once again before Ivan walked out of the room and they heard the door slam shut. 

“One of these days, I’ll start learning Russian again so I can eavesdrop on both of you,” Tolys said, laughing a little. 

Natalya sighed and shook her head. “Don’t do that,” she said. “You’ll go insane.” She stepped closer and leaned down to her boyfriend. She tucked Tolys’ hair behind his ears and let her fingers linger at the ends of his hair. “Long day, hm?” 

“Yeah,” Tolys sighed. He rested his hand on the table. “Stressful day…”

“Wanna go upstairs and relax?” Natalya asked. 

“Well, I think I’m going to finish my tea and look at some of my client’s forms, especially this thing with Ivan and Feliks, I have no idea what’s going to happen with…” Tolys began to ramble. 

Natalya leaned in closer so that Tolys could see her face. Her long hair falling over her shoulders, almost acting as a curtain that surrounded only them. “Wanna go upstairs and  _ relax _ ?” she asked again. This time she was sure to change her tone to make it more obvious to Tolys as to what she really wanted. 

Tolys thought for a moment, then chuckled. “Why did you say it like that?” He paused. “ _ Oh _ .” 

Natalya sighed and moved away. “You’re so slow,” she said, walking away. “Come on, slowpoke.” 

She turned the dining room light off, leaving Tolys in the dark. 

It had been months since Feliks danced; he had never felt up to it with everything going on. Today, he wanted to try again, even though he still felt exhausted. First, he had to stretch, which in it of itself was tiring. But no dancer could even do the simplest things without warming up properly. Then he started trying high kicks but tripped over himself numerous times instead. Finally, he tried a cartwheel and ended up crashing into all of the tables that sat surrounding the stage. 

“Um, are you alright?” 

Feliks, with his legs resting upwards onto the stage and was facing the door upside down, saw Tolys walking towards him. “Oh! Hello!” Feliks greeted. He rolled over and used one of the chairs to help himself up. “I thought we were meeting next week?” 

Tolys set his belongings onto the table. “Well, we were, but something urgent has come up,” he explained. “I have a client who is interested in buying your bar.” 

Feliks frowned. “Who? That weirdo? What’s-his-name? He was creepy.” he replied. “I told him I wasn’t interested in making a deal with the Devil.” Feliks paused. “Did you send him here?”

Tolys chuckled. “No, no. I didn’t.” He gulped. “Okay, well, let’s chat, shall we?” he offered. 

“You can’t convince me.” Feliks turned his back to him. “I’ve made up my mind. And I have a dance rehearsal. With myself, that is.” He lifted his hands above his head in preparation for another cartwheel. 

“If you remember from our discussion the other day, I said that it would be in your best interest to sell this place.” 

“And I’ve decided I think that plan is stupid!” Feliks let his hands down and looked over his shoulder. “What are my other options?” He asked in a more serious tone. 

Tolys hesitated. “There aren’t...any. You need to sell to a business that can merge with yours to help sustain this bar you love. I’m not saying you have to completely get rid of it.” 

Feliks turned around and put his hands on his hips. “Can’t you find another person willing to buy? I didn’t like that guy  _ at all _ . I mean, who stalks the place, then barges in here and demands that I sell it to him? Who the hell does that?” 

“That’s Ivan...unfortunately.” Tolys sat down. “Please, Feliks, let’s talk about this. I’ve heard...rumors about your  _ personal  _ financial situation, and I want to check in on you. How much do you make in a month?” 

Feliks bit his lip. “No clue,” he muttered. “But on a good night, I get good tips!” 

“On average, can you make a guesstimate?” 

Feliks kept quiet. 

“You...you seriously don’t know?” 

Feliks then shrugged. “I try not to think about silly things,” he said, trying to hide his glowing pink cheeks with his hair. 

“D-do you have any records? O-or anything?” Tolys continued. 

“No, no,  _ aaaand _ no,” Feliks finally sat down across from Tolys. “Basically, everything I get goes towards the bar.” 

“ _ Why  _ would you  _ do  _ that?!” Tolys shouted in shock, louder than he intended. He ran his hands over his face and took a deep breath to collect himself. “Feliks, I’m going to be...frank with you. That’s not a wise decision.” 

Feliks leaned on the table on his elbows and rested his head on his fists. “Hm, I had an inkling, but I already made my mind up.” 

“You can  _ change  _ your mind!” Tolys took another deep breath; he was truly astounded that someone would  _ do  _ something so idiotic. “I know this place means a lot to you, okay, I  _ get  _ that. But you shouldn’t sacrifice yourself for something so...trivial!” He paused. “Wait, where are you living??” 

“In the basement,” Feliks said. He leaned back and traced a circle on the table with his index finger. “I moved out of my apartment the other day. It’s not so bad, once you get past the smell.” 

Tolys shook his head. “I-I can’t believe this,” he muttered. “I’ve never encountered this before…”

“Oh, so I’m a first?!” Feliks asked, cheerful. “I’m special!”

“That’s  _ not _ something to be  _ proud  _ of.” He pulled out his cellphone to send a message. “I’m going to check with her, but I would like to offer my place for you to stay for a bit.”

Feliks narrowed his eyes. “You don’t know me,” he commented. 

“I know, but I don’t like the idea of someone I know sleeping in a musty basement. That can’t be healthy. I know we met the other day but, you seem pretty nice,” Tolys continued, typing in a message. 

Feliks smirked. “Huh, you must  _ like  _ me then. I can dance for you as payment, but if you want  _ anything else _ , it’ll be extra.” 

“That’s not what I meant! Besides, I have a girlfriend!” Tolys shouted. 

“So, if you didn’t have a girlfriend, you wouldn’t have a problem paying me extra?” When Tolys didn’t laugh at Feliks’ obvious joke, Feliks drummed his fingers on the table. “Yeah, I  _ guess  _ I can stay at your place. It’s no big deal, though. Look at me! I’m totally fine!” 

Tolys stared at him with a frown. He took a few moments before he replied, staring at his phone. “I’m sure Natalya will have no problem with you staying with us for a bit,” he mumbled. “Is this the only place you perform?”

“For now,” Feliks answered. He traced another circle with his opposite hand. “I can’t really afford to travel or anything.” 

“If you want, I can help manage your performances. I know I’m just an accountant, but I’m fairly good at reaching out to people and advertising. I also have a friend who could help. So...in other words, I can--”

“Help me get another gig?!” Feliks stood up, happily. “You’re like, the best person ever! I’m so glad we’re friends!” 

Tolys laughed nervously. “Well, it’s just a plan. We’ll start slow of course, but...it’ll at least help you get back on your feet,” he explained. “Why don’t you gather your things and I can take you to my place?” He stood up. “Can you show me the basement?” 

“Eh, there’s only a mattress down there. And like, two dresses. I can just borrow some clothes you and...what was her name? Nancy?” 

“ _ Natalya _ , and please...don’t call her anything else. She will get... _ very  _ mad.” 

“Okay, well, I can borrow her clothes as well. Everyone has stuff they keep but never wear.” His grin widened. “Ooo, you have a shower, right?”

“Y-yes?” 

“Finally, I can stop using the sink!!” 

Feliks jumped up to his feet and bolted for the door. When Tolys hadn’t followed behind him, he turned around and put his hands on his hips. “What are you waiting for? You have the car; come on! Let’s  _ goooo _ !” he hollered. 

Tolys fumbled around with gathering up his belongings and putting them back in his bag. Making his way to the door, he tripped over a chair and laughed at himself. “I have to warn you,” he began as the two of them walked out of the door. “Natalya can be a bit off-putting at first.” 

Feliks opened the door to the passenger side of Tolys’ car and sat down. “So you’re saying she’s a bitch?” 

Tolys climbed into the driver’s side. “What?! No! I’m saying that she’s distant to a lot of people. She may come across as cold.”

When the car roared to start, Feliks snorted and looked out the window. “In other words, she’s a bitch,” he repeated, leaning his elbow against the door. 

“Don’t call her that!” Tolys argued, glancing over at Feliks as he drove. “Seriously, she’s nice though. Just different.” 

“Uh-huh,” Feliks sighed. He propped his feet up on the dashboard and pushed the chair back. “I’m going to take a nap.” 

“It’s a ten-minute drive!” Tolys laughed, not quite understanding why Feliks needed to take a nap. He believed he was joking. 

“It’s a ten-minute nap,” Feliks replied, closing his eyes. Just like that, Feliks fell asleep, making Tolys nearly dumbfounded and confused as he drove back to his house. 

Tolys unlocked the front door to his house and looked over his shoulder at his car. Feliks was still asleep, sitting slumped in the passenger seat and his feet still on the dashboard.  _ He really falls asleep quickly and hard, doesn’t he?  _ Tolys thought. He put his hands in his pockets as he slowly walked back over to the car. Hesitant, Tolys knocked on the passenger window. Feliks’ eyes fluttered open and he sat up, looking around to gauge his surroundings. 

Feliks opened the door and got out of the car. As he closed the door, he rubbed his eyes and gazed up at the house. “You must be rich, huh?” he asked, grinning. 

“No, this is just an average, mid-income house. Natalya and I lived in a studio apartment for a year. Her adoptive parents passed away and she inherited a decent amount of money from them, so we agreed to rent a house together,” Tolys commented idly. “I actually pay most of the rent, though...” 

“So you’re rich,” Feliks repeated. He leaned back to crack his back and held his hands above his head. “Must be nice, huh? So you get to go on fun vacations and whatnot?” 

“What?! No!” Tolys gave Feliks a confused look. “Stop jumping to weird conclusions. Please, just...in order to get Natalya to be on board with this, you have to be respectful, okay? I’m pretty open-minded, but once Natalya gets a whiff of you being... _ different _ , she’ll demand you out of the house.” 

Feliks rolled his eyes. “And you can’t, like, convince her otherwise?” 

Tolys frowned as he unlocked the door. He chose not to answer Feliks’ last question; the explanation would take far too long and he probably wouldn’t understand completely anyway. As they stepped into the house, Tolys caught a glance of Natalya walking past, making her way into the kitchen. When the door clicked shut, she froze and turned back around. 

“Why are you back so soon?” she asked in a low voice. Before Tolys could answer, she glared at Feliks. “And who  _ the fuck  _ is this?” 

“Natalya, this is--” Tolys began to introduce Feliks and give his explanation, but Feliks had jumped in front of him and offered his hand to greet Natalya. 

“Hello, you must be…” He paused; he’d already forgotten her name. “Tolys’ girlfriend! Yes! Hi, I am Feliks!” Feliks cheered. When Natalya did not return the welcome, Feliks shrugged it off. “It’s nice to meet you! I promise I won’t cause any trouble for you and Tolys. I can be very quiet, as long as I remember! So...pretend I’m not here or anything. Okay?” 

Natalya crossed her arms across her chest and turned to her anxious boyfriend. “Tolys,” she muttered. “What the  _ fuck _ ?” 

“F-Feliks is a client of mine and he’s having a lot of financial struggles, so I-I offered him our guest room. It won’t be long; just until he gets back on his feet,” Tolys explained, stuttering a little.

“Is this the same Feliks whose bar you’re supposed to be selling to Ivan?” Natalya wasn’t amused. “ _ Why  _ are you helping  _ him _ ? Of  _ all  _ people?” 

Tolys stumbled around an explanation; he didn’t  _ have  _ to help Feliks, it was just his nature to do so. He was always that way, the helpful kid whenever someone fell on the playground and hurt their knee. Or he’d help his mother around the house with chores and cooking meals for the family. Tolys looked at Feliks and wanted to help, there was no real  _ reason  _ for it, except for the kindness of his heart. 

“Natalya, wouldn’t you help someone if they needed it? Haven’t you ever donated money or helped at a shelter?” Tolys asked. 

“No,” Natalya replied, carelessly. “We’re already pressed for money as it is; we especially can’t take in someone who’s not able to pay rent.” 

“I can pay in other ways,” Feliks suggested, jumping into the conversation. Tolys gave him a panicked look.  _ Please don’t make the joke you made earlier _ , Tolys begged him internally. “I can cook and clean and stuff.” 

Tolys sighed with relief. “That would be greatly appreciated.” He turned back to Natalya. “I promise that it won’t be long.” 

Natalya looked at her boyfriend with skepticism, but uncrossed her arms and made her way back to the kitchen. “He has a month,” she said, her voice echoing. “No more than that.” 

Feliks clapped his hands together and grinned. “Sweet!” He looked to Tolys. “So, this shower...where is it?” 

Tolys sighed with relief and smiled; everything was going to be fine. “It’s upstairs,” he answered. “Follow me.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And it is here where the antics can truly begin! I wonder what shenanigans Feliks is going to get up to in his new place? Probably too much trouble, I bet. 
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed reading this chapter; the next update should be on October 5th! Feel free to leave a comment or a critique or a whatever! We read all comments and try to write back to you guys! 
> 
> See you soon! 
> 
> -Katelyn (violinia) and Ellie (TheCrystalFalls)


	4. Making Plans

Eduard sat in his small car across the street from  ** _Evergreen Gardens_ ** , trying his best to observe Ivan from afar. The only problem was that the storefront window was accompanied by several plants, making it even harder for Eduard to see inside the store. After about thirty minutes of straining his eyes, Eduard decided to look through his notes he had taken at home.

Eduard had never thought of Ivan as a suspect until Tolys had pointed it out. With Ivan as a potential suspect, everything  _ could _ fit together. Through his research, Eduard discovered that Ivan Braginski actually hailed from Moscow, Russia, with his last name originally spelled as Braginsky. The fact mildly surprised the young journalist. He had small interactions with Ivan beforehand, and he never once thought Ivan’s accent came off as Russian; his Polish was incredibly natural.

Eduard had to find more of the story.

As he continued his research, he soon found that Ivan had been adopted at the age of 7 by an older Polish couple, thus separating Ivan from his sister Natalya, who was adopted by a Belarusian family at the age of 5. The couple that took Ivan in decided not to change his surname to match theirs, but instead changed the ‘y’ to ‘i’ to make it appear that he was Polish instead.

A silly, minor detail. So small, no one would even think of it.

What Eduard couldn’t understand was  _ why  _ Ivan and Natalya were separated in the first place. More research had to be done, to which Eduard was looking forward to. A young boy separated from his family at a young age with no proper understanding as to why it all happened? Yes, Ivan was  _ definitely  _ a strong candidate to be the ‘Puppeteer.’ 

As Eduard began to put his notes away, he jumped at the sound of someone knocking on the window. He turned to see that Ivan was standing by the door with a warm smile. Hesitant, Eduard reluctantly lowered the window.

“Hello!” Ivan greeted.

“H-hello,” Eduard replied. “Can I help you?”

“I saw that you have been sitting here for a while, admiring my shop!” Ivan began. “I wanted to tell you that there’s no need to be shy; men come to buy flowers and plants all the time!”

“O-oh…” Eduard’s voice trailed off as he looked away. “Y-yes, I was thinking of coming on in. I just...had to look over some things for...work. Sorry if I creeped you out.”

“You didn’t,” Ivan took a step back and straightened himself back to his regular stance. “Please, don’t hesitate to come in. You’ll find something you’ll love, I’m sure of it!”

As Ivan walked away, Eduard began to sink into his chair, wishing he could disappear at will.  _ Do I have to go into a serial killer’s shop?  _ He thought, turning off his car.  _ Does he already know? I mean, serial killers are clever _ . Leaving his car behind, Eduard crossed the street and stepped into  ** _Evergreen Gardens_ ** , quickly amazed at how many different kinds of plants and flowers were inside.

“Ah, you came in!” Ivan cheered. He was tending to a peace lily as he spoke. “I will be with you in a moment. Though, I do have a new worker. He should be able to help you too.” Ivan looked around the store for a second. He stepped into the back room and pushed a small teenage boy out of the room. “Raivis, say hello to our customer.”

The teenager nervously waved to Eduard. “Hello,” he said softly.

“Our customer needs help finding the perfect plant. Can you help him, Raivis?” Eduard could tell that Ivan was pressing down with all of his might on Raivis’ shoulders.

“I-I think so,” Raivis answered.

“Think?”

Raivis flinched at Ivan’s harsh tone. “I  _ can _ help him, sir.”

“Good.”

Ivan released his grip on Raivis’ shoulders, turning back to tend to the peace lily from before. Raivis let out a sigh of relief and then put on his best smile to Eduard.

“Um, hello, welcome to  ** _Evergreen Gardens_ ** . My name is Raivis, how may I help you today?” he introduced.

“Well, I was just going to look around…” Eduard said, his voice trailing off.

“Oh, okay. Let me know if you ne--” Before Raivis could finish his sentence, Ivan turned just ever so slightly, looking over his shoulder. Though Raivis could not directly see his manager behind him, he had heard the floor creak under his feet, and Raivis flinched again. “I mean...c-could I introduce you to our new succulent collection? It’s for a limited time only because you know...the weather.” Raivis added, nervously laughing.

Eduard felt bad for the kid; it was obvious he was trained to be pushy towards any customers to buy something. If someone didn’t buy anything, it would “reflect” poorly on the employee. Eduard had no intention of buying a plant, but if it would save this kid from a scolding, he would happily buy something.

“Sure,” Eduard replied, smiling. “I know nothing about plants. I’m sure you can teach me a whole lot.”

Raivis nodded. “You can follow me, please,” He kindly pushed past Eduard and began walking to the east side of the store. Eduard followed the boy, secretly admiring all of the different plants.  _ Ivan certainly has a green thumb.  _ Eduard thought. He and Raivis stopped in front of a table that had at least twenty different small pots filled with tiny succulents. “We, of course, have the popular aloe vera plant. These are always good to have since aloe vera helps with cuts and burns. It also brings good energy into your home.”

Eduard picked up a potted aloe vera plant, studying it. “It’s very cute,” he commented.

“Then we have a pincushion cactus. It doesn’t look too spiky right now, but trust me, this thing gets prickly when it’s grown.” Raivis explained, pointing to a row of pots. He also held up his hands showing several bandages on his fingers from accidental pricks from the cacti. “We also have some various echeverias. These ones are also very popular; they can come in different colors. Plus, they aren’t too spiky.”

“I think I’ll take this aloe plant,” Eduard said. It was the most practical plant to have around. “How do I take care of it?”

“Well, first, you only need to water it about once a month. Succulents hold onto water because most are desert plants. If you water them too much, they’ll rot,” Raivis continued on about how to take care of the plant, Eduard soon became distracted by his own thoughts. He took notice that there was classical music playing softly in the background.  _ Interesting choice _ . He thought, knowing that most stores just played whatever pop station came through on the radio. It seemed that Ivan had taken the time to make a playlist of music as well, as the classical music playing wasn’t quickly recognizable.

Eduard’s trance was broken when he heard a bell chime. He turned to see that Tolys had stepped inside. His friend looked like he was out of breath as if he were late. Eduard waved, catching Tolys’ eye.

“Eduard!” Tolys greeted in a hushed, but excited voice. “What are you doing here?!”

Eduard lifted up the aloe plant he was holding. “Buying a plant.”

“Really? I never took you for someone who...takes care of plants?” Tolys replied.

“I changed my mind, I guess.” Eduard paused. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, business. As usual,” Tolys sighed. “Ivan really wants to expand his business, so I went searching for another vacancy nearby, and I think I might be in luck. Don’t mind me.” He started to walk away but froze for a second. “Hey, by the way, I’ll need to talk to you again at some point. I know someone who might need some help with advertising, and I know you can do that as well.”

With that, Tolys made his way to the back of the store to discuss things with Ivan. Eduard sighed, turning his attention back to Raivis. “How much is the plant?” he asked.

“22.19,” Raivis answered. “Would you like to add an upgraded pot with your purchase?” he added, walking towards the register. “After a month or two, you will need to transfer your plant to a bigger pot. It’s a 5% discount if you include the upgrade pot with today’s purchase.”

“U-uh, sure.” Eduard agreed. He pulled out his wallet and took out his credit card. “Do you take credit?”

Raivis nodded, gently taking the card from Eduard. “With today’s purchase, you also get a free small bag of soil specifically for your plant.”

“Wow, you guys are really generous,” Eduard was shocked. “I guess it ensures customers to come back.”

“Yes, we hope you take good care of your plant so that you come back for another!” Raivis handed the credit card back and pulled out a couple of paper bags. “And if you think your plant is getting sick, you can bring it back, and we’ll take care of it for a bit until it’s back in health. Free of charge!” Raivis carefully put the plant, upgrade pot and medium-sized soil bag in each paper bag.

“Okay, everything has been approved!” Raivis slid a piece of paper along with the receipt into the paper bag. “Thank you for choosing  ** _Evergreen Gardens _ ** for your first plant! We hope to see you again soon; have a lovely day!”

“Thanks, you too,” Eduard mumbled. He balanced the three bags in his arms and carried them out to his car across the street. Closing the car door behind him and setting the bags on the passenger seat, Eduard stared at his purchases. “Why did I just buy a plant from a potential serial killer?”

Natalya had  _ fantastic  _ taste in clothes, or so Feliks concluded. With both Natalya and Tolys out of the house for a few hours, Feliks had plenty of time to just  _ browse _ through their clothing. Tolys had graciously let Feliks borrow some of his clothes for the time being, and encouraged Feliks to try on other clothes he might want to borrow. But the clothes were too long for Feliks as well as too formal. Tolys was a good bit taller, and so the fit on Feliks was baggy.

Natalya, on the other hand, was closer to Feliks’ build. The two of them were relatively the same height, and Natalya had so many dresses that varied in color. He just couldn’t help himself but try them on.

Sooner or later, Feliks realized that he had tried on nearly  _ every  _ dress that was in Natalya’s closet. All of the dresses were in different piles across the room and the bed, chaotically organized in “yes” and “no” format. Scrambling to attempt to clean the mess he had made, Feliks started putting dresses on hangers and shoving them back into the closet. After about ten minutes, he grew bored and left the room, promising himself he’d go back later and fix it.

As he was walking back over to the guest room, he heard the door open quickly and close. Feliks stopped mid-stride to see Tolys running up the steps. “Okay! So, some good news,” Tolys began. “Ivan is willing to wait for about two months to buy the place.”

“Cool,” Feliks muttered. He leaned against the wall with his arms crossed.

“However, he caught my bluff about the fake vacant building. So. He still wants--” Tolys stopped in the middle of his sentence, noticing that Feliks was wearing a red dress rather than the plain white shirt and tan pants he had been wearing earlier. “That’s Natalya’s.”

Feliks glanced down at what he was wearing. “Yeah, I was trying on some of your clothes, and her clothes are a better fit for me,” he explained. He twirled around. “See? It’s not baggy or anything!”

Tolys hesitated, but smiled. “It does flatter your figure, I guess,” he mumbled. “But you have to take it off before Natalya gets home. She...let’s just say she won’t be happy to see you wearing her clothes.”

Feliks waved his hand as if he were shooing away Tolys’ words. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll put it back soon,” He put his hands on his hips. “What were you saying earlier? Ivan is going to buy the fake place?”

“No, I said he’s willing to wait two months to see if we can get the bar back in the black.” Tolys clarified.

“Back in the black? Don’t you mean green?”

“ _ No _ , black means your finances are good,” Tolys turned and looked into the bedroom. He gasped when he saw the mess. “What happened to our room?!”

Feliks peeked around the corner. “Oh, right. I was gonna fix that,” he muttered, pointing to the mess.

Tolys massaged his temples and groaned. He was already beginning to regret his kind offer to Feliks. “Right, we can clean this up and talk. No problem.”

“Do you have anxiety or something?” Feliks asked.

Tolys looked over his shoulder to see Feliks biting a hangnail, casually.  _ Does anything bother this guy _ ? Tolys asked himself, turning back to his room. “Don’t things worry you, sometimes?”

“Eh. When it’s little things like a mess, I don’t particularly care.”

_ He’s just saying that _ . Tolys stepped into his room and began picking up the clothes that were laying on the floor first. Feliks stood back and watched as Tolys put the dresses neatly back on their hangers and in the closet. “Aren’t you going to help?” Tolys asked.

“I could, but see I get distracted easily. So if you want me to listen, I have to sit back and watch.” It was partially true; Feliks always had problems with paying attention ever since he was a kid. But when it came to cleaning or chores, if someone else was willing to do it for him, he had no problems with sitting back and watching.

Tolys groaned but did not complain.

“Do you think it’s possible?” Feliks then asked. “Can I turn the bar around in two months?”

“I wouldn’t get your hopes up,” Tolys answered. “But I think we can get a very good start in that amount of time for your job as an entertainer. I have a friend who’s a journalist; I think he can help us advertise on social media and in the papers. Which, in turn, could help with potential gigs in other cities and is good for your personal business.”

“And will also be good for the bar, right?!” Feliks cheered.

Tolys hesitated but gave a smile. “Possibly,” He put two dresses back into the closet. “But I think we should focus more on your networking and your independent business. Considering you don’t have a lot of money yourself.” In a matter of minutes, Tolys had put the dresses back into their proper place and sighed with relief. “Okay, all that’s missing is the dress you’re wearing.”

Feliks took a step back and defensively covered the top of the dress with his arms. “But I like it,” he commented.

“I know, and we can go out and get you one just like it.” Tolys smiled.

“But  _ you  _ said it flatters my figure. If I get a new one, it wouldn’t be the same.” Feliks whined. “Can I just keep this one dress? Natalya doesn’t need to know; she won’t even miss it. She has like, forty dresses over there! What’s one dress?”

“I don’t thi--”

“I won’t take any of her other dresses!” Feliks promised. He grinned, hoping it would help make his wish more convincing.

Tolys took a deep breath. “Okay, you can borrow it for a bit. But you can’t wear it when she’s around, okay? It has to be a secret. And if she asks me where it’s gotten to, you’ll have to give it back.”

“Noted!” Feliks laughed.

“Regardless, you still need to change. I need you to meet Eduard; he’ll be doing your advertisement.” Tolys stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him. “What happened to the suit I gave you this morning?”

Feliks pouted. “Too itchy. I think  _ this  _ is suitable enough.” He spun around again, the skirt of the dress flowing out nicely. When Tolys didn’t say anything, Feliks sighed. “If you think people are going to stare at me, they won’t. If you didn’t  _ know  _ my name is Feliks, would you judge my outfit?”

“N-no?”

“Then it’s no big deal!” Feliks said, lightly. He then smirked. “Unless you’re like,  _ embarrassed  _ or something.”

Tolys shook his head, blushing a bit. “No, no, not embarrassed,” he said quickly. He pushed past Feliks and went down the steps without saying anything. Feliks followed after him, slipping on his sandals before going outside.

“‘ _ Please remember to be kind to your plant _ ,’” Eduard read the pamphlet he received with the aloe plant. “‘ _ Use kind words when you are near your plant. Reassure it that it is doing well.’”  _ He snickered, trying to restrain his laughter.  _ “‘Play gentle music for your plant. Gentleness helps your plant grow and flourish. Feel free to name your plant _ ’--This is ridiculous. It’s a plant.” He set the pamphlet aside and gazed at the tiny plant. It sat on the windowsill, already absorbing the sunlight. Amused, he thought he’d give it a go: “Alright, um, Erika? You’re doing a great job at...the growing thing. You’re going to be a beautiful...aloe vera?” He sat still for a moment, waiting to see what would happen.

Of course, the plant was silent. It was a plant.

Eduard sighed. “Well, you keep doing your thing, and I’ll do mine, okay?” He stood up and stretched, his shirt rising up a bit. He began to walk to the kitchen but froze when he heard the doorbell ring. Confused, he looked through the peephole on the door to see who it could possibly be.

Cautious, he opened the door. “Hello?”

“Hello!” the person greeted. “You’re Tolys’ friend, right?”

“Um…” Eduard hesitated. “Yes?”

“Great!”

The two of them stood in awkward silence, making Eduard even more confused. “Um...can I...help you?” Eduard asked, hesitant.

“Oh, Tolys is coming up the stairs soon. I think he dropped a bunch of stuff two floors down.” The person looked over Eduard’s shoulder. “Can I come in?”

“No!” Eduard blurted. “I’ll wait until Tolys is here. Who are you anyway?? And why wouldn’t you help Tolys?”

“Oh, I was running up the stairs, and I had already started the next set, so I just kept going. I’m Feliks, by the way.” Feliks offered his hand and gave a cheesy smile. “Now can I come in?”

Before Eduard could refuse again, Tolys, out of breath and carrying a bunch of scattered papers in his arms, finally made an appearance. “Hey Eduard,” Tolys greeted, panting. “I’m sorry if there was any confusion. Did Mr. Łukasiewicz explain what we’re meeting about?”

Eduard glanced at Feliks. “Not even in the slightest,” Eduard replied, still confused. He stepped out of the apartment to help Tolys a bit with the disheveled papers. “So what’s the plan, then?” Eduard continued, leading Tolys and Feliks into his apartment.

“Mr. Łukasiewicz is in need of some advertisement help. Since you’re a journalist for a small indie paper and a blogger, I thought you’d at least have some recommendations.” Tolys explained. He attempted to gently place his things on the coffee table, but it all ended up spilling out of his hands. Pages fluttered across the floor, and Tolys sighed.

“Sure,” Eduard knelt down to pick up the papers. Feliks knelt down on the other side of Tolys to pick up some of the mess, but eventually went back to sit on the couch, calling it a day. “What would the advertisement entail? And what’s it for?”

“Entertainment!” Feliks answered for himself. “I do lots of crazy dancing and fun stuff!”

“So...are you like a dance teacher or?” Eduard asked for clarification.

“No, no, no, no. I’m a drag queen! The best around!!”

Eduard hesitated. “Is that even legal around here?”

“Why wouldn’t it be? It’s not like I’m causing any harm being me!”

Eduard stared at Tolys. “He’s certainly a bit eccentric, isn’t he?” he said in a low voice so Feliks wouldn’t hear.

“Honestly,” Tolys began. “I think it’s a mask to cover up his insecurities. I don’t think he’s  _ that  _ weird.”

“He’s wearing a  _ dress _ , Tolys.”

“It’s what he wants to wear. The only problem I have with it is that it’s  _ Natalya’s _ dress and she’s going to flip once she finds out.”

Eduard snorted.  _ All the more reason for Feliks to keep wearing the dress then.  _ He thought to himself, changing his mind about Feliks quickly. “I mean, I guess at the end of the day it’s just clothes.”

“What are we whispering about?”

Both Eduard and Tolys jumped at Feliks’ comment. Feliks, who was once sitting on the couch, now was squatting beside them. “Is this some kind of secret meeting? I’m good with secrets,” Feliks continued to whisper.

“Somehow, I doubt that,” Eduard said. “We were just planning the best way to advertise.”

“Do you think we could have one of those big billboards with my face on it?” Feliks asked, excited. “Or maybe it could be super bright and flashy?”

“We can’t really afford--” Tolys began.

“Or how about a TV commercial?”

Eduard laughed. “I think we should start subtle,” he said. “By the way, we can stop whispering now.”

“Oh, okay,” Feliks added, still whispering. “So, something small and subtle. A billboard is small and subtle, right?”

“No, it’s not,” Tolys answered in a normal voice. He stood up and stretched his back. “A newspaper ad is small and subtle.  _ And _ affordable.”

“A newspaper ad?!!?” Feliks whined. “I’m worth more than a newspaper ad!!”

“We’re not denying that,” Eduard chimed in. He put a hand on Feliks’ shoulder to reassure him. “But we have to work our way up to that part. And as long as you stay true to yourself, people will know how amazing you are.”

Feliks pondered for a moment. His legs got too tired from squatting, so he leaned back far enough to fall onto his butt and sat on the floor. “I  _ guess _ ,” he groaned. “But it has to be a whole page of my face for the newspaper ad.”

Eduard laughed nervously. “Whatever you say, Feliks.” He stood up as well, looking to Tolys. “Where are my manners? Can I get you two anything to drink?”

“Just some water,” Feliks, who hadn’t bothered to get up yet, muttered.

“I wouldn’t mind some water, as well,” Tolys chimed in. “Thanks, Eduard.”

Eduard did his best to quickly fill up two glasses of water and bring it to his guests. When he returned to the living room, he found Tolys sitting on the couch, reorganizing all of the papers he had dropped earlier. Feliks was sitting in the chair across from Tolys, staring at Eduard’s new plant. He was about to touch the small plant’s leaves when Eduard stopped him.

“Please,” Eduard pleaded. “Be gentle. I just got that today.”

“I’m just looking at it,” Feliks replied. His finger still lingered over one of the leaves.

“Then why is your finger there?”

Feliks quickly pulled his hand away from the plant and sat down properly in the chair. Eduard set the two water glasses on the coffee table and sat down next to Tolys. His laptop was sitting on the opposite end of the table; he quickly grabbed it and logged in.

“I’ll need some biographical information, Feliks. We have to make the ad appealing…” Eduard explained.

“I was born on a stormy night on November Eleventh...that sounds cool, right?” Feliks began.

“Well, it does sound a little badass, but I meant like your education background and what audience you’re specifically advertising for,” Eduard clarified, trying not to laugh.

“Oh, that makes more sense. Advertise me for bars and stuff! Say that I’m an entertainer looking for small gigs! Mainly for bars; that’ll do the trick.”

“You’re sure?” Tolys asked.

Feliks smirked. “Of course I’m sure! I’m the best around! Who wouldn’t want me entertaining them in the bar?!”

Both Tolys and Eduard chuckled nervously and looked at each other. “He’s going to be a handful, isn’t he?” Eduard muttered to Tolys.

“I think so; he’s very impulsive,” Tolys replied through his teeth.

“What are we whispering about now??” Feliks asked.

“Nothing!!”

After several moments of friendly banter and the many reminders for Feliks to focus, Eduard eventually got the information he needed for the advertisement.

Feliks Łukasiewicz was definitely an exhausting piece of work.

When Tolys and Feliks returned home, Natalya was in the kitchen, cleaning up the dishes she had used to cook dinner. Tolys had hoped that he and Feliks could enter the house without making a sound, but there was never fooling Natalya. She had ears like a bat and eyes like a hawk.

Tiptoeing to the staircase, Tolys flinched at the sound of Natalya’s voice from the kitchen. “You’re late, Tolys.” Her statement of the obvious was followed by her faint footsteps across the tile floor as she stepped out of the kitchen to stare at her boyfriend. “Dinner is sitting on the table for you.”

Feliks, who had already climbed two steps and was ahead of Tolys, hopped down and began making his way to the dining room. “Good, cause I’m starving!”

However, Feliks did not get very far. Natalya had grabbed his forearm and pulled him back. “I wasn’t talking to  _ you _ ,” she hissed. 

Feliks frowned. “Then what am I supposed to eat?”

“What you usually eat, I suppose.  _ Nothing _ .”

“You can have half of my portion,” Tolys chimed in. He stepped forward. “And I’m sure there’s more. Natalya always makes more than we usually eat for leftovers. Right, love?”

Natalya glared at him in response. Feliks yanked his arm away from her firm grip and slowly backed into the dining room. “Well, while you guys are having a staring contest, I’m going to eat some food.”

“Stop,” Natalya commanded. Her stare at Tolys intensified. “Why is this  _ idiot _ wearing  _ my  _ dress?”

“It’s not your dress, it’s mine,” Feliks lied. “Maybe you have one that’s similar.”

“No, that’s  _ my  _ dress,” Natalya confirmed. “And I don’t recall  _ ever  _ giving you permission to wear it. Not to mention, people like  _ you  _ aren’t  _ supposed  _ to wear  _ dresses _ .”

“Why do you think it’s your dress? Tolys, why does she keep thinking it’s her dress?” Feliks continued, still trying to cover up his lie, while Tolys stared back at him with thinly veiled panic. “I just  _ happen  _ to have a lovely red dress. I stopped wearing it because I didn’t have any place to live and see, this is just so nice that I can’t let it get dirty. Today was the first day I got a chance to wear it again. It’s  _ my  _ dress.”

“You’re lying,” Natalya hissed.

“Okay, fine, it’s your dress. But it looks better on me, don’t you think?”

“No, it looks terrible on you.” She paused and tilted her head a bit. “But considering you’ve already ruined it with your filth, I guess I’ll be generous and let you keep it. I don’t normally do charity work, so be grateful. And if you take my clothes again, I  _ will _ burn them.” With that, she pushed past her boyfriend to walk upstairs.

Tolys let out a heavy sigh; he hadn’t been aware that he had been holding his breath the whole time. “That was close,” he muttered.

“What was close?” Feliks asked, clueless.

“Remember when I said we couldn’t let her see you wearing that?”

Feliks shrugged and turned away. “So? It’s my dress now!” He laughed as he stepped into the dining room and took a seat. There was already a plate waiting for Tolys on the dining table; Feliks grabbed the fork and quickly began eating the meal.

“Listen,” Tolys started, unsure of how to phrase what he wanted to say in a way that wouldn’t put Feliks immediately on the defense. “You can’t keep...stealing Natalya’s things,” he stated as he sat down beside Feliks.

“I didn’t steal, she let me have it! You heard her!!” Feliks replied.

“Yes, and the universe was on your side this time. But it can’t happen again.” Tolys paused. “Do you... _ need  _ more clothes? Of your own?”

Feliks made a raspberry noise and waved his hand around as if he were shooing away a fly. “ _ Nie _ ,  _ nie _ !” he blurted, attempting to hide the truth. “I just left most of my stuff at the bar, remember?”

Tolys frowned. He knew Feliks was lying, and he knew that Feliks was in desperate need for a lot of things besides a new wardrobe. “How about this: why don’t we go shopping at some point? You can get anything you want, suits, shirts, dresses. Whatever.”

“When you say anything, you really mean  _ anything _ ?” Feliks asked, grinning.

“Well, anything within reason.”

Feliks pouted. “Oh.”

“Okay, we’ll go do that,” Tolys let out a small sigh of relief. “But you understand that you can’t steal  _ anything  _ belonging to Natalya again. Okay?”

Feliks played with the split ends of his hair and hummed. “Yeah, yeah, okay.”

“I need you to say ‘I won’t steal from Natalya again,’ okay?”

“Ugh,  _ fine.  _ I won’t steal from Natalya again.” 

Tolys sighed with relief. “Good,” he said. He picked up a piece of carrot from his plate and tossed it in his mouth. “I’m glad we could come to an understanding.”

Feliks took a piece of chicken on the plate and chewed. “This would go better with some beer,” he added, changing the subject. “You got any?”

“There might be some in the refrigerator,” Tolys answered, standing up. “I’ll be right back.”

As Tolys left to the kitchen, Feliks set the fork aside and leaned against the table, no longer feeling hungry. How he hated being in such a  _ stupid  _ predicament he put himself in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor, poor Feliks. 
> 
> Hiya! Hope you're all doing well! As promised, here's the new chapter! Tolys has a lot of patience, doesn't he? Bless his little heart, huh? 
> 
> The next chapter should be posted sometime around October 19th! I'm interested to know what you all think so far? Why is Feliks so bad with money? Will Eduard's new aloe plant talk back? I would love to hear what you guys think! We do our best to read and reply to all comments! 
> 
> See you all soon! If you'd like, you can also follow either of us on different platforms! Thank you for reading! 
> 
> -Katelyn (violinia) and Ellie (TheCrystalFalls)
> 
> Katelyn - Tumblr: @bonnefoys Twitter: @kviolinia


	5. Reuniting with Roksana

It took a while, but soon Eduard got a call from a club wanting to know more information about Feliks, or rather, Roksana Pierogi. The club was in a small town just outside of Warsaw and would pay a small amount to have Roksana to come in and perform. Assuming Feliks would have no problem with it, Eduard agreed to the gig on Feliks’ behalf. Once he finished the call with the club owner, Eduard immediately gave Tolys a call.

“Tolys speaking,” Tolys answered the phone.

“Hey,” Eduard picked up the post-it note he had written all of the information on. “I got a call from a club not too far from us. They were interested in Feliks’ performing for them.”

“Oh! That’s great news! What did you say?” Tolys replied.

“I said that he would happily perform. Well, I said she? Cause it’s Roksana?” Eduard continued. He was trying his best to keep up with correct pronouns. “It’s confusing, but I confirmed the date and everything.”

“Wonderful! When is it?”

“Next Friday and Saturday.”

There was a hesitation on the other line. “Um...Natalya and I were going to have a date that day.”

Eduard groaned.  _ You know what happens when you assume _ . “I know the transportation is the main issue; I could just drive Feliks,” Eduard offered.

“No, no. The three of us all promised to go together. You would go so you can get a better idea as to what it is Feliks  _ actually  _ does, and I would go to manage his finances. I have a feeling that if I weren’t there, Feliks would either blow all of the money on something silly or just put it into trying to save the bar.” Tolys sighed. “I’ll bump the date up a day.”

“What is the date even for anyway?” Eduard asked.

“It’s just a night for the two of us. It’s been a while since we’ve had one.”

“Huh,” Eduard shook his head. He never understood the small things couples found enjoyable. “You’re not... _ proposing  _ to her, are you?”

“No, no!” Tolys paused. “Should I? I mean, it’s been two ye--”

“Definitely not,” Eduard rebutted.

Tolys laughed nervously. “That’s right, you  _ really _ don’t like Natalya.” He laughed again. “Well, I’ll move the dinner arrangements up by a day and...double check with Natalya. I’m..sure she’ll be okay with it.”

_ Don’t count on it _ , Eduard mused darkly. “Let me know. If I need to call them back…”

“Don’t worry, everything will be fine,” Tolys assured. “Thanks for the update!”

The conversation ended there, and Eduard set his cellphone aside. The cursor on his blank computer document blinked metronomically as he slowly tried to recollect his train of thought before the first phone call. He scrolled up to reread his notes on what he had written on his current suspect for the Puppeteer. Within minutes, Eduard smirked as his lost thought returned to him, and he began working on his proposed article about his suspicions.

For the life of him, Feliks couldn’t figure  _ why  _ Tolys loved Natalya. It was obvious that she did not love him back, and was only in the relationship because Tolys was a nice and caring guy. In this terrible world, who  _ wouldn’t  _ cling to a guy like Tolys? Even if you didn’t actually love him?

So there was a benefit on Natalya’s part to stay in the relationship, but for Tolys, nothing was sustaining for him. He was emotionally drained 24/7 because Natalya, being the emotionless bitch that she was, took advantage of it. She never said anything nice to Tolys and always pointed out his shortcomings. At times, she would scold him for trying to be affectionate. Claiming that it was all too weird and that normal couples never touched each other unless they were in bed.

Their relationship did not make any sense.

At breakfast, after Tolys had left to meet with some of his other clients for the day, Feliks would linger by the dining room table and drink his coffee. Most of the time, Natalya had to go into her nursing shift at the hospital around ten o’clock, but today she had taken a later shift. Which meant Feliks had to, unfortunately, deal with Natalya’s weird energy in the house. She was  _ creepy _ .

As Feliks sat at the table, he could feel Natalya’s stare burning through his skin from the doorway to the room. “Aren’t you going to do something?” Natalya asked. Feliks turned to look at her. He then grabbed his coffee cup and obnoxiously slurped his coffee. Natalya rolled her eyes and crossed her arms as she leaned against the wall. “Something other than that.”

“Do you have to watch me?” Feliks asked.

“Yes. What else am I going to do?”

“I dunno, watch TV? Read a book? Drive that fancy car your boyfriend bought for you?”

Natalya scowled. “Why would I do any of that when there’s an idiot in my house?”

Annoyed, Feliks quickly stood up from his seat, grabbed his coffee cup and wandered out of the dining room. As he began to go up the stairs, he knew Natalya was right behind him. He suddenly turned around and bumped into her, spilling lukewarm coffee onto her outfit. “Aw,” he gasped, pouting a little. Natalya stepped back, wiping the coffee off of her blouse and gave her signature glare. “That’s a shame; it  _ was  _ a cute outfit,” he added, turning back around. He made his way to the top of the stairs and took a sip of the remainder of his drink.

“You're going to regret that!” Natalya hissed.

“ _ Oh no, I'm going to regret that, _ ” Feliks muttered under his breath, mocking her.

Feliks reached the guest room he was staying in and quietly closed the door behind him. Sitting down on the bed, Feliks cozied up to the pillows and set his coffee cup on the bedside table. He rested his head on the backboard and let out a sigh.  _ She might be crazy, but living with a crazy person is better than living in a cockroach-infested basement.  _ Feliks made a face at himself. 

Is this what Tolys said to himself every day?

In a couple of seconds, Feliks finished his coffee and grew bored. There was nothing to do in the house, other than peruse through Tolys’ and Natalya’s things just for the sake of being nosy. But he would easily be scolded again, either by Tolys or Natalya, which would eventually lead to him being kicked out of the house. And he most  _ certainly  _ did not want to be on the streets again.

There was a pointed knock at the door. Groaning, Feliks reluctantly went to open the door, mildly fearing what might happen if he didn’t. “Yes? Do you need my fashion advice or something?” he said when he answered the door.

Natalya didn’t answer him. Instead, she simply handed him her cell phone and crossed her arms as she waited. When Feliks stared at her blankly, she rolled her eyes. “It’s for you. It’s Tolys.”

“Oh,” Feliks held the phone up to his left ear and stepped back to close the door. “Hello, this is Feliks spea--” He was caught off guard when the door wouldn’t shut. Something was blocking it.

“Hey, Feliks! I have some good news. Eduard got a call about a possible gig for you!” Tolys said. “It’ll be next weekend; you’ll be ready by then, yes?”

Feliks leaned against the door, still attempting to close it. It was obvious that Natalya was holding the door open; all he had to do was push on the door hard enough for her to give up. “You ask as if I’m not always ready! Ready is my middle name!” he answered. He gave the door another push with all of his might. It just wouldn’t budge. “Actually, it’s my second middle name. I actually have another middle name.”

Tolys laughed. “I knew what you meant. Do we need to get you anything in preparation? We’ve already got you some more clothes, but do you need costumes? You wear Halloween costumes, right? That’s a thing? Or something? How about music?”

“I would like a nice skin care regimen.”

“Uh...is that imperative to your performances?”

“If I say yes that means you have to buy it, right?”

“Um, how about this: Natalya has some stuff I think. Maybe talk to her about it and try some of her stuff.”

Feliks scoffed. “I don’t think that’s going to work considering she won’t let me close the door!!!” He peered around the door to face Natalya. She stared at him with scowling eyes, but there was a small, defiant smirk over her lips. “ _ Do _ you mind??”

“Not at all.” She refused to move.

Feliks groaned and turned back behind the door. He took a few steps forward before running into the door in hopes of the force being enough to slam it shut. He had expected some resistance because of Natalya doing everything she could to keep the door open. However, what he  _ hadn’t  _ anticipated was Natalya stepping back just before he hit the door, resulting in Feliks slamming himself face first into it and falling backwards. The incident was followed by a strange, muffled cackle from the other side of the door.

The cell phone fell out Feliks’ hands as he landed on the floor. There was a faint call from the phone; it was Tolys repeatedly calling out, asking if everything was alright. Feliks swiped the phone and put it back to his ear. “My morning is going very well. Thanks for asking. And how was your day?” Feliks said.

“What?” Tolys replied, confused. “What just happened?”

“Has anyone ever told you that your girlfriend is weird?” Feliks blurted.

Tolys hesitated. “I may have...been told that a handful of times, yes. Did she do something?”

“She’s just weird.”

“Okay, um, I promise you she’s not. She’s just different. Talk to her, alright? I’ll give you more information about the gig later.” There was a brief pause. “You can...give the phone back to Natalya now.”

“She’s not home.” Feliks hung up before Tolys could ask questions and set the phone next to himself. Thinking that the phone was going to ring again, Feliks was surprised that Tolys didn’t call back. However, there was a loud banging on the door from Natalya.

“I need my phone back!” she shouted, her voice muffled through the door.

Feliks quickly slid the phone underneath the bed. “I lost it.” The door handle shook as Natalya tried to enter the room. “Uh-oh, is the door locked?”

“Unlock the door, you stupid idiot!”

“Sorry, it’s nap time.”

Soon, there was silence. Feliks soon began to close his eyes, drifting off to sleep. When he was almost completely gone, he was jolted awake by a loud electrical buzzing, the sudden noise nearly giving him a heart attack. Within seconds, the door opened, pieces of the doorknob falling to the floor and there Natalya was, kneeling on the floor, holding a power screwdriver. Without saying anything, she calmly set the screwdriver down on the floor and stood up, tilting her head as she stared at Feliks.

“Didn’t you and Tolys have a little talk last night?” she asked.

“We talked about a lot of things. Which conversation are you referring to?” Feliks replied, pretending to be oblivious to what she meant.

“The one about stealing,” she clarified. She took a step closer, towering over Feliks. “So, you should probably give my phone back now.” Her eyes widened into a blank, but eerie stare, her lips curling into a creepy but childish smile.

Feliks sat up, turning away from her. She gave him the creeps, so bad, it nearly made him feel sick. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever. It's under the bed,” he murmured as he stood up. “Go ahead and look for it. I'm sure there's nothing creepy and crawly under there.”

Natalya scowled at him before lowering herself to the floor. With one hand, she easily lifted up the mattress, discovering the phone not too far from the end of the bed. She swiped it and let the bed fall back down with a thud. “Tell me, Feliks, were you not taught manners when you were a child?” she asked, not bothering to turn around.

“My parents weren't around much,” Feliks answered.

“I suggest you learn pretty quick then,” Natalya continued. She soon turned around, with her arms crossed against her chest. She smirked again as she past Feliks, purposely bumping into him. Standing in silence for a moment, Feliks eventually stepped out of the room to holler: 

“Hey!! Aren’t you gonna fix the door?!” 

The old Jetta’s trunk was filled with many suitcases, despite Tolys, Eduard and Feliks only going on a trip that lasted for the weekend. The three of them were ready to go, except Feliks was taking a  _ ridiculous _ amount of time to get ready for the brief trip.

“How much longer do you think it'll be?” Eduard asked, climbing into the passenger seat of the car.

Tolys closed the car door behind him and sighed. “I don't know; I really hope he and Natalya aren't having another petty argument.  _ Again _ .”

“Do they not get along?” Eduard asked.

“They do, it's just...how to describe it? It's very tense.”

Eduard snorted and leaned his elbow against the window. “Because it's not normally tense around Natalya anyway,” he laughed. “I'm sure it's fine.”

As if on cue, Feliks came sprinting out of the house and jumped into the back seat of the car. “How fast can you drive?” he asked, out of breath.

“I-I have to back out of the driveway first,” Tolys answered.

“I want to get to the hotel as fast as possible!” Feliks added.

“Wait, why? Are we actually running late?” Eduard chimed in, checking his watch.

“No! I just want to see which bed is the bounciest when we get to the room.” Feliks put his seatbelt on. He then patted his knees in anticipation. “Come on! Let’s go!”

“Hold on, I have to say goodbye to Natalya,” Tolys replied. He saw that she was slowly making her way down the front steps and over to the car. Rolling down the window with the crank, Tolys greeted Natalya with a tender smile. “Hey, I’ll let you know when we get there, okay?”

Natalya leaned onto the window sill of the car. “And when you’re coming back, right?”

“Of course,” Tolys leaned in or a kiss, but Natalya immediately pulled away.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Kissing you goodbye?” Tolys said. The two of them hadn’t experienced one leaving to go on a trip while the other stays behind to hold the fort. So he could  _ somewhat  _ understand her shock. But then again, Natalya never responded to actions of affection well.

When she did not lean in closer for a kiss, Tolys suddenly felt embarrassed. “Come on, Natalya. Please? It’s what everyone else does,” he pleaded.

“I don’t understand the big deal; I know you’re going to be back,” she responded callously.

“Please, can we...can we not do this here? In front of Eduard and Feliks?”

Natalya thought for a second, groaned and leaned in closer to her boyfriend for a quick kiss. “Tell me when you’re coming back,” she reiterated. “No surprises. I hate them.”

“Yes, of course,” Tolys replied, turning the ignition. “I’ll see you Sunday. I love you.”

Natalya said nothing as she stepped back and pulled her hair all to one side. She crossed her arms as she watched them pull out of the driveway, not bothering to wave goodbye. Once Tolys had reached the road and put the car in drive, he quickly rolled the window back up and gave a final wave to his beloved. Turning away, Natalya made her way back up to the house without acknowledging them.

After a couple moments of tense silence, Feliks leaned forward in his seat, his arm resting on the headrest of Eduard’s chair. “So, how the hell did you and Natalya even meet? You guys seem like such a mismatch.”

“U-um, well, I hadn’t been in a relationship for a while and I tried a free trial on a dating site. I went on a few dates with other women, but she and I seemed to really hit it off on our first few dates,” Tolys explained. “That, and I had been giving financial advice to Ivan for several months, and he decided to set us up on a blind date once he found out that we had matched on a website.”

Feliks smirked. “By ‘hit it off’ you mean the sex was good, right?”

Tolys’ cheeks turned a startling shade of red. “N-no! We got along well!” 

“That’s not what you told me,” Eduard scoffed, glancing at Tolys skeptically.

“Ooo, what did he tell you?” Feliks asked.

Before Eduard could go into further detail, Tolys flipped on the radio and turned up the volume. “You guys like music? I-it’s going to be somewhat of a drive, so let’s enjoy some music, shall we?”

The three of them fell silent as music filled the small car. Trying to push the conversation behind him, Tolys found himself gripping the steering wheel too hard, making his knuckles turn white. At some point, Feliks grew bored of the music. As he hastily took off his seat belt, the buckle slammed against the window, making a loud, jarring clicking noise. He then shimmied his way between the two front seats, nearly causing Tolys to swerve into opposing traffic, and began flipping through radio stations nonstop.

“You know there’s a scan button, right?” Eduard commented. He had pushed himself against the door to give Feliks more room.

“This is easier,” Feliks replied, blowing past five different stations in a second.

“You’re not even staying on the stations long enough to hear what the song is!” Tolys objected.

“I know a good song when I hear it, and I haven’t heard it yet.”

“You’ve gone around all of them several times! Slow down!”

Feliks ignored Tolys’ final comment, still pressing the skip button as fast as he could. It all lasted for ten more minutes until Eduard turned the radio off. There was a whine from Feliks as he moved back to sit in his seat, slouching. For the remainder of the car ride, it was silent; Eduard looked up articles and any clues about the killer while Feliks stared out the window, watching the scenery go by.

It took about twenty more minutes until they arrived at the small, slightly run down hotel. Once checked in, it was Feliks who ran ahead with the hotel key and entered the room before Tolys and Eduard could remotely keep up with him. Like a child running through a candy store, Feliks barged into the hotel room and jumped on the first bed. He landed with a great thud and was immediately disappointed that the bed had no bounce whatsoever. As Eduard and Tolys entered the room, struggling to bring all of the suitcases in one trip, Feliks ran over to the other bed and jumped on it as well. Thankfully,  _ this  _ bed had some bounce.

“I claim this one!” Feliks cheered, jumping up and down on the bed. He began to jump as hard as he could to get more height. “Look at it! It’s like a trampoline!”

“How old is he again?” Eduard asked Tolys.

“He’s our age,” Tolys replied.

“_Really?_” Eduard’s eyes darted from Tolys to Feliks and back to Tolys. “Are you_ sure_?”

Tolys nodded, closing the door behind him. “Feliks, could you maybe  _ not  _ jump on that? It’ll break, and then we’ll have to pay for a new one,” Tolys pleaded.

“I’m not gonna break it,” Feliks said, still jumping around the bed. He spun around in midair. “I barely weigh anything! See watch!” He then made sure to land on the bed on his butt, which resulted in him flying off of the bed and landing on the floor, knocking over the lamp. Fortunately, the lamp did not break, and Feliks popped up from the floor with a bright grin. “See! No breaks!”

Tolys and Eduard stared at him, dumbfounded. “Please don’t do that again,” Tolys and Eduard said simultaneously.

“I’ll try, but no promises!”

Tolys sighed out of mild frustration and dragged his suitcase over to the opposite bed. “One of us has to share a bed anyway, so--”

“Not me!” Feliks sat down on his bed and took off his shoes. 

“Okay, fair,” Tolys took a deep breath. He turned to Eduard. “You’re okay with sharing a bed?”

Eduard shrugged in response. He truly did not care.

“Looks like you guys are sharing a bed, then!” Feliks taunted. He climbed back onto the bed and laid down against the thin pillows.

“Don’t get too comfortable,” Tolys added. He put his suitcase on the bed and unzipped it. “You have a performance to get ready for, remember?”

“That’s not until later, right?” Feliks replied. “I’m tired and want a nap.”

“You didn’t even do anything!”

“I bounced on the bed, didn’t I?” When neither Tolys or Eduard replied, Feliks sighed and sat back up. “Okay, fine. I’ll get ready. I’m probably a little out of practice anyway.” He grabbed his suitcase that was sitting in the corner by the door and dragged it into the bathroom. His struggle of making the suitcase fit through the bathroom doorway lasted for about a moment, sounds of hard plastic banging against the wall filled the room. Feliks then poked his head around the frame. “It’ll just be a minute,” he said before closing the door.

“And why did he need his suitcase  _ in  _ the bathroom?” Eduard asked.

Tolys groaned as he shook his head. “I think it’s best not to ask questions about him,” he stated. “Let’s just talk about what we’re going to do for dinner.”

Before his whole financial situation went completely awry, Feliks used to have a whole ritual in his transformation to Roksana Pierogi. And though it had been at least two years since Feliks had followed through with the ritual, he did his best to return to it.

He began with a shower. When he was a kid living in an expensive house with his parents and even as an adult, he had taken showers for granted; he never really appreciated them for what they were worth. A shower meant cleansing away the worries and dirt away; a shower meant starting fresh.

When he was finished with his shower, Feliks stepped out of the tub and dried himself with a towel. As he was drying his hair, he contemplated his outfit for the night. Not that there was much to go off of; he had sold the  _ best  _ of his outfits a long time ago for money. He regretted the decision now, but he had been desperate. But then again, with the right fabrics, he could probably sew a new outfit in no time.

Soon Feliks had Roksana’s outfit on, and all he had left to do was the makeup. Thankfully, he didn’t wear much makeup to begin with. He preferred to not have much of anything on, actually; his dancing and flips required less wardrobe and makeup malfunctions. There had been too many times when a performance was over, and Feliks had torn through his clothes or lipstick was smudged all the way to his eyebrows.

Once all was done, Feliks burst out of the bathroom and twirled around the room. “Ta-da! And the party is here; Roksana has arrived!”

Tolys and Eduard stared at Feliks in confusion as they ate takeaway food. “You took two hours to get ready,” Tolys commented.

“What?! No, I didn’t!!”

“Uh, yeah you did,” Eduard replied, pointing to the digital clock sitting on the bedside table.

Feliks looked over at the clock and let his arms fall to his sides. “Oh, it has been that long,” he commented. “Did you save any food for me??”

Tolys held up a container of food and placed it on the end of the bed. “Eat up,” he answered. “We’ve got thirty minutes until we leave for the performance.”

Feliks hastily grabbed the container, threw the lid off and sat down on the floor to eat. Typically, he didn’t eat before a performance, but given that he was still gaining his strength back, eating was vital. After all, he needed it for Roksana’s first performance in years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! I'm coming to you from my vacation place! Luckily, this place has wifi (sometimes I don't have wifi while I'm away). 
> 
> Anyways, here is the new chapter! I know it's on the long side, and there are a lot of parts that are just people talking to each other. But I really like showing how characters really interact with each other. Also, my stories have always been dialogue-driven, and I don't know why (it was that way when I took a creative writing course back in undergrad as an elective; it's a strength as well as a curse). 
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Next chapter, we'll get to see Roksana perform!! How exciting! The next chapter should be around November 2! See you then! 
> 
> -Katelyn (violinia)


	6. Adrenaline

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a trigger warning: there is some violence at the end of the chapter (blood mention). If that bothers you, you may want to skip the last section of the chapter (there are about 5 sections in this chapter, which are separated by 2 spaces)

The drive to the club was not very long, in fact, it lasts only for a couple of minutes. The club was right around the corner from the hotel. The three of them could have indeed walked if they wanted, but Feliks complained that his feet would hurt if they walked. 

In the middle of nowhere the club sat; it was obvious that one had to be in the know in order to find this place. Tolys wondered if this was even a safe place at all. The building looked like nothing special, in fact, it looked a little bit run down.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Tolys asked quietly. 

“What? Never been to a nightclub before?” Feliks taunted. “No one bites. Unless you’re into that kind of stuff.” 

“I’m not,” Tolys replied. 

“He totally is,” Eduard added, opening the door. 

Once they all had gotten out of the car, Feliks, who was officially wearing the highest heels Tolys had ever seen, hurried up to the security guard standing by the door. “ _ Cześć _ ! It is I, Roksana Pierogi!” he shouted, holding his hands high up into the air. When the security guard didn’t step aside, Feliks put his hands on his hips. “ _ Excuse  _ you, do you mind?”

Tolys stepped beside Feliks and politely smiled at the guard. “Good evening, sir. We’re here for a performance this evening. Ms. Pierogi is here to…”

“Don’t call me that,” Feliks interrupted. “Ms. Pierogi sounds too raunchy.”

“Sorry, sorry. How do I refer to you?” Tolys asked.

Feliks waved his hand at Tolys and pushed him aside. “Look, I am here to give the best performance anyone has seen!” he gloated.

“Are you on the list?” the security guard asked.

“List?” Feliks scoffed. “Of course I am!”

The guard pulled out a clipboard to double check, but before he could even glance at it, Feliks snatched it from his grip. He then ripped the sheet off and stuffed it in his mouth, before tossing the clipboard over his shoulder.

“Would you look at that? Everyone is on the list! Now,  _ excuse you _ .” Feliks declared, swallowing the piece of paper, and pushed past the guard into the club. The security guard and Tolys stared at each other dumbfounded as Eduard finally came over to them.

“Hey, sorry. My boss called me saying my next article is due next week. So much for really enjoying this weekend.” Eduard paused and glanced at Tolys. “Did I miss something?”

“Feliks…Feliks  _ ate  _ a piece of paper…” Tolys muttered under his breath. He was still in disbelief and shock.

“Like, a small scrap of paper?” Eduard asked.

“No…he just…shoved the whole list in his mouth…” Tolys responded numbly, staring at the empty space where Feliks was a few moments ago.

The two men stood in silence at a loss for words until the security guard kindly stepped aside to let Tolys and Eduard inside.

Excited to see what was in store for the evening, Eduard walked ahead of Tolys and was quickly greeted to loud electronic music, bright flashing lights and flamboyant outfits. People were grinding up against each other on the dance floor, holding their drinks up high above themselves, spilling the contents on themselves. Feliks, however, was nowhere to be found. Disappointed but not surprised, Eduard wandered over to the bar for a drink. Tolys followed close behind him. Eduard ordered a beer, while Tolys practically interrogated the bartender over whether he had seen Feliks walk by.

“I see lots of people walk by,” the bartender answered.

“I know, but did you see a  _ drag queen  _ walk by?” Tolys asked.

“Drag queen? Which one?”

“Roksana Pierogi.”

The bartender’s eyes lit up in excitement. “Roksana Pierogi? You mean  _ the  _ Roksana Pierogi is performing tonight? Seriously? She’s a  _ legend _ .” He grinned. “I’ve heard that she’s crazy on stage. There was a rumor that someone watched her pirouette and then fall into a split without stopping herself from spinning. But I thought she quit for good a while ago. You’re  _ sure  _ she’s back?”

“Yes, I’m sure. I drove her here,” Tolys answered.

“Oh, so you’re her manager?”

Tolys hesitated. “N-no, not e-exactly.”

Eduard slid closer to his friend. “Yes, he’s managing her business right now,” he chimed in. “I think what my friend means is, do you happen to know where the dressing rooms are?”

The bartender nodded and happily gave them directions on how to get backstage. Tolys and Eduard hurried as best as one could while squeezing through several dancing bodies to get backstage. It was just as crowded in the back as it was on the main dancefloor with several people running around, gathering their change of clothes and making sure the stage would be ready for the performance.

“Excuse me,” Tolys said, trying to catch the person running past him attention. Of course, he had no luck. He asked again and again until someone was kind enough to point him and Eduard in the right direction. They opened the dressing room door to find Feliks sitting on the floor with one leg behind his head. “ _ What _ are you doing?!” Tolys asked.

“What?” Feliks answered, still sounding deep in thought. “I gotta stretch.”

“No, you can’t just…you can’t just eat paper and then run off!”

Feliks thought for a second as if he had already forgotten the encounter at the front door. “Oh, right. What’s wrong with eating paper? It’s a good source of fiber.” He moved so that both of his legs were now in front of him.

“You can’t eat paper!” Tolys repeated. “And I had no idea where you went! Don’t… don’t do that!”

“What are you, my babysitter?” Feliks stood up and yawned. “Look, I know both of you are new to this stuff, but…just trust I know what I’m doing. M’kay?”

Tolys took a deep breath and leaned his head back to gather his thoughts. “Alright, I trust you. Just…”

“Don’t eat paper and run off, got it.” Feliks finished for him. “Now can you guys like, leave? You’re ruining my headspace.”

“Where’re we supposed to go?” Eduard asked.

Feliks snorted. “On the dancefloor? Duh?”

“But we’re not…”

“Well, you have to be there to see the show. Right?” Feliks stared at them. “Ugh, you guys are  _ really  _ new to this, huh?

“We--” Tolys started.

“Whatever. Just go sit at the bar or something. I have to meditate or whatever you call it.” Feliks finished. He pushed Eduard and Tolys out of the dressing room and slammed the door behind him.

Leaning against the door, Feliks slowly slid down to the floor and sighed. His nerves were starting to get the best of him, given that it had been at least two years since he had done something like this. His stomach churned and gurgled. “Shouldn’t have eaten that paper,” Feliks muttered to himself. He quickly scrambled to his feet and stood in front of the mirror to double check his outfit and makeup. After wiping away some lipstick that had somehow gotten smeared just slightly and smoothing out his hair, Feliks put on a smirk and said to himself:

“Roksana’s back,  _ bitches _ .”

“At least order a drink, Tolys,” Eduard said.

Tolys was leaning against the bar counter with his head in his hands. He was starting to feel that he had taken off too much more than he could chew. Feliks was as controllable as a firecracker, and Tolys  _ truly  _ had no idea what kind of life Feliks led.

“I think I’m in over my head, Eduard,” Tolys said, turning to his friend.

Eduard shrugged. “I think you don’t know how to loosen up,” he commented. “Order a drink. Sit back and enjoy the show.”

“But--”

“Tolys, seriously,” Eduard sighed. “When was the last time you spent a night away from home? And spent it just for fun for yourself?”

Tolys thought for a second. “Um, well…”

“ _ Too long _ ,” Eduard answered for him. “Natalya’s not here. Have a drink, unwind, and let’s see what weird thing Feliks is going to do on that stage.”

“Right,” Tolys agreed. He turned to the bartender who was wiping off the counter. “Could I get, um...” Tolys’ voice trailed off as he looked around for a menu. “Um, do you have a menu?”

Eduard smacked his forehead and leaned around Tolys. “Just get him a beer. Whatever’s on tap.”

The bartender chuckled and gave a nod.

The music suddenly stopped, and someone spoke too close to the microphone. “Tonight, we’ve got a special performance! The one, the only,  _ Roksana Pierogi _ !!”

As the audience erupted in excitement, the bartender slid the beer to Tolys and said, “ _ Shit _ , you weren’t kidding when you said she’s here!!”

Tolys took hold of his beer and gave a questioning look. “Is she  _ that  _ big of a deal?”

The bartender grinned. “How does the manager of Roksana Pierogi  _ not  _ know what she can do to the fullest extent?”

“I’m really just her accountant,” Tolys said with a shrug. “We only met a couple of weeks ago!”

“Then just watch!”

The club went completely dark except for one lone spotlight that was shining in the center of the stage curtain. It was completely silent for a few agonizing seconds, then an auto-tuned voice spoke, and Roksana rushed out of the curtain and struck a pose. The crowd immediately went wild as if they still couldn’t believe that it was actually the legendary Roksana Pierogi had graced them with her presence. Roksana leaned forward while she stood at the edge of the stage and giggled.

The spotlight was where she belonged, and she had missed it.

The beat of the music continued to pump up the energy as Roksana slowly walked across the stage, flaunting her skimpy outfit. So far, Tolys was still confused as to why the drag queen was such a big deal; it wasn’t like anything was really happening on stage. Sure, she was lip syncing (in English, mind you) and emphasizing the sensual energy in the club even more, but nothing  _ thrilling  _ was happening.

That, of course, changed when the chorus hit, and Roksana tore off her simple dress. She tossed it into the crowd (which Tolys immediately felt was a risk, as he was worried that she would never get it back) and pranced around in her skin-tight outfit. Tolys couldn’t help but noticed that Roksana  _ really  _ looked like a woman.  _ Down there _ . 

“Where did  _ it  _ go?” Tolys asked so quietly that no one could possibly hear him.

Soon, audience members started lifting up tips and were nearly trampling over each other to give Roksana their share. Roksana leisurely took her time collecting tips and stuffed them in her bra.

The act continued, with various songs being split and mixed to create a unique performance. Roksana had worked every inch of the stage, with cartwheels, spits, flips and death drops. There was even a point where she had flipped (didn’t even bother to walk) over to where there was a stripper pole, swung around it several times and slid down upside down with her legs wide open. The crowd had gotten so loud that the music could be barely heard anymore.

It was at this point Tolys finally understood.

The show came to its conclusion, and Roksana stood in the center of the stage, out of breath, and took a bow. The audience was throwing money on the floor, and Roksana collected as much as she could before she left the stage. She blew a kiss to the audience and then disappeared behind the curtain. The people backstage congratulated her as she walked back to the dressing room (“Yes, yes, I  _ know  _ I’m great! Thank you!”). Full of adrenaline and proud of herself for the first time in too long, Roksana stepped into the room and happily closed the door.

The happiness, however, vanished in a second as she collapsed on the floor from exhaustion.

“ _ Now  _ do you see why she’s so legendary?” The bartender asked Tolys.

Tolys, still speechless from the show, only nodded. He glanced over at the counter and realized that he hadn’t even touched his glass of beer.

“Aren’t you glad that you get to manage her?” he continued. “The amount of money you must bring in with her performances must be  _ phenomenal _ .”

Tolys gulped. “Y-yeah,” he said, sliding off of the barstool. “I’m going to go check on her. You coming, Eduard?”

Eduard set his empty glass down and slid off of the barstool as well. “Sure,” he said with a smile. He seemed to have really enjoyed the show without question.

With his hands in his pockets, Eduard followed Tolys backstage to the dressing room. Tolys kindly knocked on the door before entering. “Feliks? Or, um, Roksana? Can we come in?” he asked. There was no response, so Tolys took it upon himself to step in the room. To his surprise, he found Feliks lying face down on the floor, motionless. “Are you okay?!” he asked, worried.

Feliks, still feeling exhausted from his first show in several years, scrambled to find a lie. “Do you know how hot it is on stage? Like, so hot. The floor is nice and cold.”

“Yeah, but how dirty is that floor?” Eduard asked.

Feliks lifted his head just a bit, spit on the tile floor and rubbed the spit into the floor with his arm. “It’s not  _ that  _ dirty.”

“Well, why don’t you take off your outfit and stuff? That’ll cool you off too, right?” Tolys added.

“Hm, yeah, maybe,” Feliks agreed, despite the fact that his outfit was already showing off his skin.

Tolys and Eduard stood still, expecting Feliks to stand up right away. However, a couple of minutes passed and Feliks was somehow still content on laying on the floor.

“Do…do you need help?” Tolys asked.

“No,” Feliks answered, pushing himself up. “I’m just fine.” He stood up, walked a couple of steps until his feet gave out again and fell on the floor.

“Do you ne--”

“ _ Nie, nie, nie _ ! I’m fine!” He stood up and repeated the same thing. He knew it was his shoes, but he refused to take them off.

“Feliks, your shoes,” Eduard stated.

“They’re fine--”

“No, they’re the reason why you keep falling!” Tolys added, genuinely concerned. He moved over to try to help Feliks back on his feet. “You have to take your shoes off!”

“No!”

“Why?”

“They make me look taller!”

Tolys wrestled with Feliks to try to take his shoes off for him, but Feliks, though exhausted, was fairly strong and pushed Tolys away. He was persistent about keeping the shoes on and refused to admit that they were the problem. Eventually, Tolys prevailed, and threw the high heeled shoes across the floor, leaving Feliks in his stocking feet.

“I can’t go back out there with no shoes on!” Feliks wailed. He was about to make a dash for his beloved shoes, but Tolys held him back.

“Clearly, you’re tired, and those shoes don’t help,” Tolys stated. “Take a few moments to relax!”

Knowing he was right, Feliks relented and was almost glad to sit down in the chair beside him. But he did not want to admit that, and so he crossed his arms and pouted, like a small child. It only lasted for a few seconds because Tolys quickly changed the subject.

“I liked the show,” he said.

Feliks sat up and grinned. “It was  _ great _ , right?!”

“Yes, it was really good. I’ve never seen a drag show before,” Tolys added.

“So you lost your virginity!” Feliks cheered.

“I don’t…think t-that’s how it works?” Tolys glanced at Eduard. “Do you normally do  _ all  _ of that?”

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I? It wouldn’t be a Roksana Pierogi show without me doing the most!” Feliks smirked. “I have to set the bar high so  _ no one  _ can reach me!”

“I don’t think anyone can come even remotely close,” Eduard snorted. “I’m so glad I agreed to do this. I can’t wait to put this up on the website.” His cell phone buzzed, and Eduard quickly excused himself from the room to take the call. The dressing room grew quiet, and Tolys looked to Feliks, concerned.

“Are you okay?” he asked again.

Feliks scoffed, avoiding his gaze. “I’m fine. Stop asking me,” he lied.

Tolys frowned. “It just seems like you hurt yourself.”

“I’m fine. Promise.”

“You were on the floor…”

Feliks stood up to grab his shoes. “Look, it’s nothing a little bit of alcohol can’t fix.” He looked over his shoulder. “Don’t you have a girlfriend to call? Have some phone sex or something?”

Tolys’ cheeks turned red. “N-Natalya isn’t a fan of phone sex.”

“What?” Feliks raised an eyebrow. “She’s weird.”

“ _ Different _ , yes.” Tolys gave a strained smile at the thought of her. “But I love her.”

Feliks’ smug smirk quickly disappeared as he looked away with a twinge of regret that he could not place. He slid his feet into his high heels and did his best to cover up a limp as he walked to the door.

It was time for a drink.

Death could either be kind and forgiving, or it could be cruel and malicious. 

Krzysiek Nowak’s legs could not carry him anymore. The forest’s terrain had been rough on his feet; it was much harder to jump over fallen trees and rocks than actors in movies made it out to be. Krzysiek’s heart was pounding through his chest as he collapsed to the ground, hoping to catch his breath for a couple of seconds. 

The wind rustled the leaves in the trees, and for a brief moment, Krzysiek found comfort in it. It was quiet and serene, with the moonlight peeking through the clouds. If only he could  _ truly  _ enjoy the beauty of the forest. 

Krzysiek began to stand up, mentally encouraging himself to run. His feet ached, but he had no choice. He needed to survive. He needed to live to tell the tale. 

He had seen the Puppeteer’s face. 

With one step forward, Krzysiek soon fell over, but not due to exhaustion. No, someone had hit him over the head with a blunt object, causing him to stumble. He landed hard on his left shoulder; it felt as if the bone had shattered underneath his weight. 

“Why do you think you can run from me?” 

Looking up, Krzysiek came face to face with the Puppeteer, and tried to push himself away. But it was to no avail. The pain from his arm was too much. His killer knelt down beside him and put a hand against his windpipe.

“Tell me, are you afraid of me?” 

The voice was so empty, it truly terrified Krzysiek. How could he have mistaken this person to be human, when in reality, they were an evil creature? How had he missed the signs? 

Suddenly, the pain from his shoulder was no longer important. The perp suddenly stood up and kicked him in the face, causing him to spit up blood and a couple of teeth. He groaned in pain and rolled to his right side, but he was soon pulled back.

“Answer me, Krzysiek. I asked you a question, now answer it.” 

It was a stupid question to ask because now two hands were around Krzysiek’s throat. He gasped for air, trying to push the hands away. The choking continued for a few more seconds until the Puppeteer grew bored and moved away, sucking their teeth in disapproval. 

With another kick to the face, Krzysiek fell unconscious. When he awoke, he found himself hanging from a balcony of an abandoned house. His hands were tied to the roof above him, just like a puppet on a string, with his legs free below him. There were light footsteps pacing below him, followed by a light laugh as hands cradled his jaw. 

“You’re awake. Good. Now the fun can begin.” 

“What are you going to do to me?” Krzysiek asked, frantically. 

“I want to make you beautiful,” 

“Please, let me go! I promise I won’t tell anyone! I-I’ll do whatever you ask of me!” Krzysiek begged. 

There was a sigh. “I  _ hate  _ when they beg,” Krzysiek suddenly felt them push against his neck, choking him. “Do me a favor;  _ shut up _ .” 

Krzysiek gulped and nodded. Pressure was removed from his neck, and Krzysiek sighed with relief. He soon realized that his pants were cold and completely soaked. 

There was a laugh. “What a shame.” 

There was a pause. 

“You  _ bore  _ me. I thought you’d be more fun, Krzysiek. You said so on your bio.” 

“Please, just let me go!” Krzysiek pleaded. 

With a swift motion, Krzysiek’s leg had been slashed. Blood dripped down his leg and onto the wooden floor beneath him. “Didn’t I just tell you to  _ shut up _ ?!” 

“I-I--!” 

“I’ve had enough of this,” The Puppeteer stood face to face with Krzysiek and pressed a blade across his neck. “This is all you’re good for, you know that, right? You’re just a puppet.” A pause. “I will make you beautiful. Don’t you want to be beautiful?” 

Just as Krzysiek was about to plead for his life again, his throat was slashed and blood quickly trickled down his body. With a twisted smile, the Puppeteer stepped back, admiring their work and watching the life drain from Krzysiek’s eyes. Krzysiek only heard two words as his life faded away from him: 

“_Так красиво._” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation:  
Так красиво - so beautiful  
**Please know that I'm not an expert in Russian (it took me a while to get the hang of the Cyrillic alphabet like you don't even know). If I used the wrong form of "красиво," please let me know and correct me. I know the basics...of the basics...of the basics of the language.** 
> 
> Hi guys! How was your Halloween? It got rescheduled in my neighborhood because of severe storms and wind. So I had lots of fun constantly rescheduling my students' lessons this week. 🙃 
> 
> Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! I'm also going to warn you that chapters are most likely going to get longer and longer as the story progresses. Like, some future chapters are LONG. Long af. I'm serious. I apologize for that in advance.
> 
> Please leave a comment or a critique down! The next update should be around November 16! 
> 
> -Katelyn (violinia)


	7. Fashion Lines and Meetings

Feliks Łukasiewicz could drink. Not just a couple of shots and that was it.  _ No,  _ Feliks could drink the night away without any inkling of him being drunk. Which was surprising for Tolys, given the fact that Feliks was  _ very  _ short and petite. By the end of the night, Feliks was able to walk out of the club in a straight line without falling over, despite still insisting on wearing those ridiculously high heels.

However, that didn’t mean Feliks didn’t feel it in the morning.

Eduard was the first one to wake up, as he had an article to bullshit for his boss. Tolys was second. He flinched at the light coming in from the hotel window as he flung the bed sheets off. After getting washed up and preparing himself for an afternoon of planning, Tolys had to wake up Feliks.

At first, Feliks did not reply, nor move as a matter of fact. He remained still under the blanket. Then after Tolys repeated his name for the fifth time, Feliks groaned and rolled over, his back facing Tolys.

“Come on, Feliks,” Tolys pleaded. Feliks pulled the covers over his head and further curling up into a ball. “Feliks, I thought you said you wanted to go do things today.” Tolys knew there was still another performance that night, but he wasn’t one to sit around and do absolutely nothing.

“Sleeping is a thing,” Feliks finally replied. His voice was heavily muffled by the sheets and blankets. “I’ll do that.”

“No,” Tolys sighed. “You said you wanted to go shopping. And possibly look around this small…town.”

Feliks groaned again, refusing to budge.

“Maybe you need to lure him out with food,” Eduard commented. He closed his laptop for the time being and stood up from the chair in the farthest corner. “There’s a café not too far from here, I think. I could use a cup of coffee, anyways.”

Tolys glanced at the hiding Feliks and sighed. “We’re going to get some breakfast. What would you like?”

There was a moment of hesitation before Feliks spoke. “I want 2 croissants with strawberry jam on them. And then I want some hard-boiled eggs. Hmm, make it 3 croissants. And maybe some cheese.” He answered.

“T-that’s a lot of food,” Tolys commented.

“And I’m one hungry bitch.”

Without arguing, Eduard and Tolys made their way out of the motel and walked down to the café. Thankfully, there wasn’t a line at this café, and the two were able to order their food relatively quickly.

“I don’t understand why he’s so high maintenance,” Tolys muttered. The barista handed him a huge paper bag filled with breakfast goodies. “He acts like a child.”

“Don’t you know who his family is?” Eduard asked. He picked up the carrier for three coffees in to-go cups.

“No? Should I?” Tolys replied. He never understood why Eduard was so nosy in other people’s business. Tolys supposed it was the life of a journalist.

“Well, if you listen to more than half of the songs on the radio, you should at least know who his father is,” Eduard continued. “Do you not look up your clients when you’re just getting to know them?”

“No! That’s their private business.”

Eduard shrugged. “In this day and age, you can find any information you want.” He paused. “Feliks’ father was a  _ huge  _ music producer, and his mother was a well-known opera singer. I think she had several performances around the world.” Eduard paused. “It seems like a bizarre combination, but Feliks’ mother was open minded and creative. She and her husband often combined modern pop with her operatic style.” Another pause. “From what I understand, Feliks’ mother was very protective of him. Hence why Feliks is probably so…eccentric. And also why he acts like he was severely spoiled as a child.”

Tolys thought for a moment, trying to process the new information. “So I guess he got into dance because of his mother?”

“I’m guessing. His family was extremely wealthy, so they could  _ easily  _ buy anything he wanted.”

“So what happened to his family?”

“Plane crash,” Eduard answered quickly. “They had a private jet, which tells you how  _ rich  _ they were. Something malfunctioned, and it crashed on its trip from Berlin back home to Warsaw. There were no survivors.”

Tolys swallowed; he couldn’t fathom such a tragedy. “Feliks wasn’t on it??”

Eduard nodded.

“That was recent, right? Like a couple of years ago?”

Eduard shook his head and frowned. “No, Feliks was probably…fifteen? Sixteen? You know he won a huge dance competition in London, England, right? It was a couple of months after that, I think. He was probably back at school by then..”

Tolys had no words; he was truly speechless.

“W-well, what happened after that? He wasn’t old enough to be on his own yet.” Tolys then asked as they stepped back into the motel.

Eduard pulled out the hotel key from his pocket and balanced the coffees in his left arm as he unlocked the door. “That, I don’t know. You’ll have to ask Feliks.” The door opened, and Eduard gave Tolys a sad look. “I’m sure a family member took him in until he was old enough,” he concluded in a softer voice.

Inside the motel room, they both saw that Feliks hadn’t moved from his bed at all. He was still covered by the motel sheets and blanket, the fabrics bunched up almost like a mountain. Tolys and Eduard gently set the food and coffee on the small desk across from Feliks’ bed, and Tolys picked up a coffee cup. He stood beside Feliks (or at least where he  _ thought  _ Feliks’ head would be) and held the cup close to the blanket.

Catching a whiff of the caffeinated drink, Feliks’ hand shot out from the blanket like a cat searching for something to grab. Tolys jumped at the sudden movement and took a step back from the bed. Feliks kept aimlessly searching for the coffee cup by waving his hand around. But it was all to no avail.

“You have to get  _ out  _ of the bed, Feliks,” Tolys stated.

Feliks poked his head out of the blanket and squinted his eyes at Tolys. Because of the covers being bunched up ridiculously, it almost made Feliks look like a snail. “No fair,” Feliks whined. “It’s warm in here.”

“You can’t drink and eat breakfast in bed,” Eduard chimed in.

“Yes I can; I did it all the time as a kid,” Feliks replied.

Eduard looked at Tolys, silently saying  _ See, I  _ told _ you that he was rich. _ Feliks covered his head again with the sheets. “You guys are a bunch of meanies.”

Relenting, Tolys was about to take a step forward and set the coffee on the bedside table. But Eduard stopped him. “ _ Don’t _ enable him,” he whispered.

“What’s the point in arguing anymore?” Tolys whispered back.

“We’re trying to  _ lure  _ him out, remember?”

“I’m not a cat, you know.”

Tolys and Eduard turned to see that Feliks had  _ finally  _ emerged from his blanket cave and was sitting on the edge of his bed, only in his underwear. His hair was slightly matted and all over the place from sleep. He raised his hands above his head and let out a strange noise as he stretched. Opening the bag on the desk, Feliks began rummaging through the bag, searching for what he asked for.

“T-they didn’t have any croissants left, so we got you two sandwiches and a hard-boiled egg,” Tolys explained hastily. His heart rate sped up slightly, expecting Feliks to throw a fit over not getting exactly what he requested.

Feliks pulled out two sandwiches and unraveled them out of their wrapping. He took a gigantic bite out of his first sandwich, closing his eyes with satisfaction. It was in a matter of seconds when the first sandwich disappeared, and Feliks began eating the second one. “Thank you,” he muttered. He was still chewing on a mouthful of his sandwich. “This is really curing my hangover.”

Tolys smiled. “I’m glad you like them,” he said, gently. Despite Feliks proving to be selfish and difficult, Tolys was thankful that he neither criticized nor complained about the makeshift meal.  _ Natalya would _ , Tolys thought, stepping over to take a sandwich for himself out of the bag as well.  _ There are always so many flaws to point out with her. _

Feliks disappeared into the bathroom, and Eduard sighed with relief. “He’s a handful,” he stated, crossing his arms. “At least it’s entertaining, though.”

“He has another performance tonight,” Tolys added. He thought about the pain he knew Feliks was hiding after he had done his first show in what appeared to be a couple of years. He hoped the pain had subsided enough, but he suspected that Feliks wouldn’t say anything about it. “I have a feeling that it will be even crazier than last night.”

Eduard grabbed his sandwich out of the bag and unwrapped it. “I have a feeling you’re right…”

On Sunday morning, Tolys had to repeat the ritual of luring Feliks out of bed so they would travel home. It was, in fact, harder this time around as Feliks had managed to double how much he drank the night before. Not responding to the smell of food, Tolys ended up dragging Feliks out of the room, with the motel’s blanket and all, and to the car. As Tolys started the car, his cellphone rang.

“Tolys speaking,” he answered. He balanced the phone between his ear and shoulder as he started to back out of his parking space.

“Are you coming home?” Natalya asked in a monotone.

“Morning, Natalya,” Tolys said in a chipper tone. “How was your weekend?”

“Don’t ask me stupid shit like that when I know you don’t care,” Natalya hissed.

“T-that’s not true, I  _ do  _ car--”

“When are you coming home?” Natalya repeated. Her tone was harsher this time, so sharp it seemed to slice through the air with the precision of a knife.

“We’re leaving right now, actually,” Tolys finally gave the answer she wanted. “Do you need me to pick anything up for you?”

“No,” Natalya initially said. She then paused for a second. “We’re out of coffee. And bread. You also left the refrigerator empty while you were gone.”

“That’s not true,” Tolys argued. “I thought I went grocery shopping before we left!”

Natalya scoffed. “Hmph, then an  _ idiot  _ must’ve gotten in there.”

Tolys glanced in the rearview mirror at Feliks who was still wrapped up in the blanket from the motel. His head was leaned all the way back as he slept, his mouth wide open and soft snores could be heard from the back of the car. It was such a funny sight, Tolys couldn’t help but smile. “I wish you’d stop calling him that,” Tolys replied quietly. “Besides, he wasn’t around when I came back with the fo--”

“He thinks he’s very good at sneaking around the house,” Natalya interrupted. “But he’s clumsy and obvious; he leaves evidence behind like a rat does with its droppings.”

Tolys swallowed, bracing himself for Natalya’s response. “Okay, well, do you have  _ proof  _ that it was  _ Feliks  _ who ate all of the food?” Tolys knew it would be impossible for anyone to eat that much food within a short amount of time he had brought the food home and they left for the weekend. Natalya just  _ hated  _ Feliks and was trying to get Tolys to hate him too.

“You think I’m lying, Tolys?!” Natalya growled through gritted teeth.

“No...I think you’re mistaken--”

“ _ Excuse me _ ?!”

“Feliks wasn’t even in the house,” Tolys continued, standing firm despite his racing heart. He looked over his shoulder to check the blind spots in the car as he merged onto the freeway. “He couldn’t have possibly eaten all of the food.”

There was silence. Tolys glanced at the phone to see if Natalya had hung up out of anger, but she hadn’t. She was just playing her usual game.

“I can hear you breathing, Natalya,” Tolys added.

“Are you accusing  _ me  _ of eating all of the food? Over two days?”

“Natalya, come o--”

“You better apologize when you get home,” she continued. “Otherwise, you’re sleeping on the couch.” She paused, and Tolys swore he could almost hear her smirking. “I  _ would  _ be nice and have you sleep in the guest room, but a  _ rat  _ sleeps there now. You don’t want to sleep with a  _ rat _ , do you?”

Tolys bit his tongue. “I need to focus on driving, Natalya,” he said. “I’ll pick up some food and coffee.”

“And bread.”

“Isn’t that along the lines of f--” Tolys paused. It wasn’t worth another argument. “Yes, and bread.”

“Good.”

With that, Natalya hung up the phone. Tolys sighed as he dropped the phone in the cup holder beside him. He heard Eduard sigh beside him.

“You really deserve so much better, Tolys.  _ So _ much better.”

Parking the car in the small driveway, Tolys said goodbye to Eduard as he got in his car to drive back to his apartment. While Tolys attempted to grab all of the groceries for one trip, he heard another slam of a car door and saw Feliks wandering towards him in his peripheral vision. He still had the blanket wrapped around him from head to toe, looking like a goofy worm as he practically waddled next to Tolys.

“What’s for dinner?” Feliks asked.

“I don’t know; you’ll have to ask Natalya,” Tolys replied. He was tired, and he was dreading going inside the house to greet his girlfriend. Their earlier argument had really upset him, deep down.

Feliks groaned. “Right; I forgot about her.” He sniffed. “You guys do coupley stuff, right?”

“W-what do you mean?”

“Like, go to the movies. Walk in the park. Kiss each other’s noses. That weird thumb thing people do when they hold hands,” Feliks listed thoughtfully, looking at Tolys closely.

Tolys hesitated; he and Natalya most  _ definitely  _ did  _ not  _ do those things. “Of course we do,” he stated, too defensively to be believable. He laughed nervously. “Why do you ask?”

Feliks was skeptical. “Natalya comes across as cold. Like a fish. And mean.”

“She has her own way of expressing her love,” Tolys said. It was his usual excuse.

“I’ve only seen her yell at you.”

“She doesn’t yell at--”

“Tolys!!!!”

Both Tolys and Feliks peeked around the car to see Natalya standing on the porch with her hands on her hips. “You’re late!” she finished.

Feliks narrowed his eyes. “For what??”

“Feliks, shh,” Tolys hushed. The last thing he wanted was another argument. He came around the car, holding all of the bags of groceries, and walked up the steps. “I’m sorry it took so long. There was some u-unexpected traffic on the way back from the store.”

Natalya crossed her arms and huffed. She stepped aside to let Tolys in. As Tolys entered the house, she called: “Why is he wearing that ridiculous thing?”

Tolys set down the bags of food and turned around to see Feliks,  _ still  _ wrapped up in the blanket, waddling up the steps. “Uh…” Tolys mumbled.

“It’s a new fashion line I’m working on,” Feliks said. “I call it,  _ Blanket _ . Don’t judge, it’s still a work in progress.”

Tolys snorted, covering his mouth. He was starting to understand Feliks’ sense of humor, which was most of the time completely random. “Feliks, aren’t you hot in that thing?” he asked.

“I’m hot in everything I wear. What of it?”

Tolys laughed. “No, I meant, isn’t it  _ warm  _ in that? Aren’t you sweaty?”

Feliks smirked. “Sometimes you gotta make sacrifices for fashion.”

“That has  _ got  _ to be the ugliest fabric I’ve ever seen.” Natalya hissed, ruining the moment.

Feliks scanned down at her outfit and snickered. “So is your outfit but I didn’t say anything.” He pushed past her, nearly knocking her over as he stepped into the house.

“Tolys,” Natalya muttered as she closed the door behind her. “Take that flea infested blanket away from the stupid idiot, please.”

Not wanting a fight, Tolys stepped over the groceries that he had set down to attempt to take the raggedy blanket away from Feliks. Deciding to make it a game of tag, Feliks jokingly started to run around the house. They both ran into the dining room and immediately stopped in their tracks when they came across Ivan sitting in total darkness.

“I-Ivan, w-what on earth are you doing here?” Tolys asked. He quickly turned the light on; the eeriness alone Ivan carried around with him easily made Tolys extremely uncomfortable.

“We missed our weekly meeting,” Ivan answered. He smiled. “Natalya also told me that Feliks is staying with you. I thought I would kill two birds with one stone; we’ll have our meeting now and Feliks can sign this form I brought.”

“I already told you, I don't make pacts with the Devil himself,” Feliks blurted.

Ivan giggled. “Good thing I'm not him, huh?”

“That's debatable,” Feliks huffed.

Ivan opened his arms, gesturing to the two seats beside him. “Why don't you two sit down? Natalya agreed to make dinner while we discuss business.”

Tolys frowned; he didn't like the fact that Ivan, though most likely invited in by his sister, had waltzed into Tolys’ house and made demands. He didn't like that he was still persistent over something that really could wait just a bit. Feliks’ situation was more pressing than Ivan's, yet Ivan didn't, and would never, see it that way.

“Tolys? Is everything okay?” Ivan’s expression of concern was rendered ineffective by the menacing gleam in his eyes.

Tolys quickly took the seat to Ivan's right and glanced over his shoulder at Feliks, hoping he would follow suit.

Which of course, he did not.

“Yeah, helping Natalya cook dinner, even though she’s the  _ worst _ , sounds more fun,” Feliks mumbled. He began to walk away, but Ivan grabbed part of the blanket and pulled it out of Feliks’ grip. “Hey! Give me back my fashion line!”

Ivan, more than a foot taller than Feliks, bunched up the blanket and held it over his head. “Please sit down,” he said, with a chilling smile.

“I'm not selling you my bar!” Feliks hissed.

Tolys turned around. “Feliks,  _ please _ . Just sit down. This can be harmless, I promise.”

Feliks crossed his arms and pouted for a brief second. Relenting, he sat down, but at the opposite end of the table from where Ivan sat.

Ivan set the blanket on the floor by his feet and folded his hands in front of him. He turned to Tolys first. “Tolys, remind me; do you think I could afford to buy another business?”

“With your spectacular business practices and great bookkeeping, yes,” Tolys answered.

“Good,” Ivan smiled. He looked to Feliks. “I would like to propose an idea to you, Feliks. I won't buy your bar completely, yet, but I would like to become co-manager. That way, I could slowly become full-time manager, and you can go back to focusing on...whatever it is you do for a living.”

“No,” Feliks replied.

“See, I gave no other option. This means you take my offer now.”

“No, there are always two options,” Feliks said. “The one you offered, and the one  _ I  _ offer. And my offer is, you leave me the hell alone.”

Ivan’s smile tightened before he turned to Tolys, speaking through gritted teeth, “Tolys…”

Tolys cleared his throat. “Right,” he sighed. Rising out of his seat, Tolys shuffled over to sit next to the stubborn Feliks. “Okay, Feliks, it would actually be in your best interest to have Ivan buy the bar. It would help your own personal financial situation, actually.”

“No,” Feliks repeated.

“M-maybe I wasn't clear; Feliks, you need to sell the bar so you can worry about yourself.” Tolys continued to clarify. “The majority of the money you make is going directly to the bar, which we all know is sinking underwater  _ fast _ . I know you’re not keen on working with Ivan, but this way, you won’t lose the bar completely. You’ll get to keep working, and the bar will be safe. It will only switch owners, and that way you won’t keep getting into more debt.”

“I already made my decision, and once I make a decision, I don't change my mind.” Feliks leaned closer to Tolys. “That, and there's no way I'd give it to this weirdo.”

“You know I can hear you, right?” Ivan stated.

“Good, you weirdo!”

“Feliks, okay, I'm going to need you to watch what you say,” Tolys whispered, fully aware that the damage was already done. “Just like his sister, you have to be careful what you say around him.”

Feliks shrugged. “My stance is firmly located in the Land of No, so--” He then stuck his tongue out like a taunting child “--Deal with it.”

“You don't trust me, I understand,” Ivan said. He had a bag resting on the back of his chair, and he pulled a large photo album out. “I would like to share the story of my business so you can see that I am a good person. Please, come here and sit next to me.”

“I'll pass.”

“Okay.” Ivan rose to his feet and moved over to sit beside Feliks. He slid the album over to him and opened to the first picture. “This was my grand opening. Only four years ago. Can you believe it?” Ivan turned the page. “And this is me and my first customer; a sweet old lady who wanted to add a rare flower I had to her collection. Isn’t that sweet?”

Ivan continued to flip through every page of the album for fifteen excruciatingly long minutes until he reached the end. Slamming the book shut, he watched Feliks closely. “Now do you see that I am a good and trustworthy person?”

“I see that you're good at creating a false, cherry-picked narrative to manipulate people into liking you,” Feliks replied. He yawned. “ _ Now  _ can I go?”

Before either Tolys or Ivan could say anything, Natalya had stepped into the room carrying a large pot of soup and placed it on the table. “Dinner's ready,” she announced as though she were presenting a funeral rather than a meal.

“Soup? I  _ hate  _ soup,” Feliks whined, slouching in his chair.

“Soup is very good for you, Feliks,” Ivan said patronizingly. “Especially this one; it’s filled with lots of vegetables to make you big and strong.”

“It’s liquid dinner, and it's stupid,” Feliks added.

“Beggars can't be choosers,” Ivan and Natalya said simultaneously. They both shared the same pointed glare at Feliks, their eyes wide and no fake smile to be seen. Tolys shivered; the room always felt thousands of degree colder when Ivan and Natalya did this. However, Feliks didn't seem bothered.

“Yes I can,” he replied. He stood up from his seat and sauntered out of the dining room. “I'll make my own dinner, and it'll be so much better than yours.”

Natalya started to follow him, but Tolys quickly went around the table to stop her. “L-let's just give him some space, okay? I think he needs space,” Tolys said nervously. “Why don't we just enjoy dinner, hm? It smells delicious, Natalya. Thank you for cooking.”

Natalya stared at him for a few seconds, still contemplating her decision. She soon grabbed a bowl and served a healthy serving of soup for her brother. She did the same for Tolys as he wandered back around the table to his initial seat. Once the three of them had their soup in front of them, they silently ate as they listened to the occasional bangs and slams from the kitchen.

“He better not break anything,” Natalya said in a low voice.

“I'll make sure everything is okay afterward,” Tolys promised.

They continued eating, ignoring the sounds from the kitchen, and soon finished their meal. Once finished with their second helpings, Feliks finally returned to the dining room with a plate full of  _ pierogi _ .

“Are those the frozen ones?!” Natalya hissed.

Feliks dropped the plate on the table; two  _ pierogi  _ fell off of the plate. “There were frozen ones??” he asked, sitting down. “I just used the dough I found in the fridge and mashed some potatoes and--.”

“Those were for something else!!” Natalya berated him.

“Oops,” Feliks muttered. He took a bite and turned to Tolys. “You want some?”

“Uh,” Tolys hesitated, glancing at his bowl that was still partially filled with soup. He knew if he said yes, Natalya would be livid. But the thing was, he really  _ did  _ want some  _ pierogi _ .

“No, he’s full!” Natalya snapped. She swiped all of the bowls off of the table.

“I wasn’t...finished…” Tolys muttered as Natalya walked away. There was a creak from the floor, and Tolys saw that Feliks had moved beside him. He held out his hand underneath the table, holding a napkin. Gently taking it from him, Tolys opened the napkin to find two  _ pierogi  _ inside.

“May I have some?” Ivan asked.

Feliks slid his plate further away. “Get your own,” he replied. He shoved a single dumping into his mouth and chewed. The house was quiet again while Ivan rummaged through his belongings and stood up, ready to leave. While Feliks was slowly working through the mountain of dumplings he had cooked, Ivan tossed a stack of papers in front of him.

“Before I go, I need you to sign some papers,” Ivan stated. He pulled out a pen from his pocket and set it atop the papers. “Everything we’ve already discussed is in writing; no need to read through it.”

“Actually,” Tolys said, standing up. It had been a long day, and he wanted Ivan to finally leave his house. He grabbed the papers off of the table and held them against his chest. “I think it would be best if Feliks and I skimmed through it at least. We’ll have it back to you tomorrow.”

Ivan scowled. “It will be signed tomorrow, yes?”

Tolys gulped. “We’ll have it back to you tomorrow.”

Ivan took a deep breath and nodded. He said nothing as he walked out of the dining room. Murmurs from the hallway were heard as he said goodbye to his sister. As he fell back into his chair, Tolys heard the front door click shut, and he let out a sigh of relief. With Ivan finally gone, he would have the chance to look through the forms and figure out a different plan where Feliks would be onboard.

Tolys set the napkin with the two  _ pierogi  _ inside in front of him and unraveled it to eat. He bit into one and smiled softly; it was delicious. As he enjoyed the two dumplings, Tolys began to slowly look through the forms, absorbing as much information as he could. At some point, Feliks had finished his meal and disappeared into his room. A couple of hours had passed, and he had located his laptop to start up a new form and plan.

Natalya lingered in the doorway with her arms crossed. She stood in her pajamas, and her hair was tied back in a ponytail. When Tolys didn’t take notice of her, she huffed. “Are you coming upstairs?”

“Soon.” 

“You’ve been gone all weekend,” she said. “Doing God knows what,”

“I have a couple of more lines to write in this document, then I’ll be up.”

It wasn’t a good enough answer for her. “Didn’t you miss me?”

Tolys bit down on his lip. “Of course I did.” He turned to her. “I just have some work to catch up on. Alright?”

Natalya still wasn’t satisfied with his answer. Tolys knew what she wanted, and frankly, he wasn’t in the mood. The two had a silent standoff as Tolys went back to typing and Natalya continued to glare at him. He wished she would get the hint and go away, but she continued to stand there, and Tolys could practically feel the seconds scraping by.

Eventually, Natalya left, but not without turning off every single light in the house. Once he heard the bedroom door close, Tolys went around and turned all of the lights back on so he could finish his work.

It wasn’t until the morning when he realized he had fallen asleep on his computer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, here's chapter 7! Sorry that it was uploaded a little bit later in the day. I'm going through the typical writer's "no one likes my story" phase so. There's that. 
> 
> Comments and critiques are very welcome! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The next chapter will be around November 30th!


	8. Signed Contract

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just as a warning, there is some blood mention in the beginning of this chapter!

Another victim of the Puppeteer had been discovered; 25 year old Krzysiek Nowak. He looked like all of the other victims that the Puppeteer discarded: brown hair, average height, and average build. Krzysiek had moved back in with his parents after a terrible breakup, and was desperately doing his best to get his life back together by going back to finish his degree at university. He had been found at an old, abandoned house deep in the forest, hanging from the roof with his throat slashed and two missing teeth. It had been estimated that Krzysiek had been dead for a few days from the state of his corpse. Being in the forest, birds and other animals had begun picking at his body for food. Despite the fact that his murderer had kicked him in the face several times, it was clear that he had not endured as much torture as the previous victims. He didn’t seem to wear the several slash marks across his thighs and wrists that previous victims carried. It was odd. Was the Puppeteer evolving? Becoming more and more impatient with their victims? 

And so, for Eduard, it was another morning, another day spent investigating Ivan Braginsky’s life. 

Though the research had been slow for several weeks, Eduard was certain he was on the right track. He had discovered that Ivan’s parents had been killed when he was a child and that was the reason as to why he and his sister were separated so young. He came to the conclusion that Ivan must have witnessed it, and that was why Ivan came across as so distant. A moment like that would have been traumatizing for any child.

Eduard sympathized with Ivan for a brief moment; he couldn’t fathom an experience violent as a child. But unfortunately for Ivan, Eduard knew an incident like that could very  _ easily  _ create a serial killer.

Despite practically staying up all night doing research on what makes a serial killer and Ivan Braginsky, Eduard had managed to write a dinky article to his editor; “10 Fun Ways to Cook Pancakes,” was its name, and Eduard hated every word of it. Most definitely not his finest work, and he knew no one would read the pointless online article, but at least he got paid for it.

Eduard found it odd that Ivan was nearly going out of his way to buy a bar. Owning a flower shop was the complete  _ opposite  _ of running a bar. In all of the years where Eduard vaguely knew Ivan, he didn’t think that Ivan was remotely interested in owning a bar or a club. Ivan didn’t seem like the party-goer. Why all of a sudden would he want to go into  _ that  _ business?

“More clientele for his ‘night’ business?” Eduard asked himself. All of the victims of the “Puppeteer” were young males, around college age, sometimes older. Perhaps Ivan was hiding something about himself; something that he perhaps was very ashamed of. It would certainly give him the motive to take innocent lives. Not to mention, two new victims had been discovered three days after Eduard, Tolys and Feliks returned from their trip. 

The next step for Eduard was to find if anyone had been personally threatened by Ivan, verbally or physically. Eduard knew that Ivan was just as creepy as his younger sister, if not more so. The chances of someone feeling threatened or scared by him had to be extremely high. Customers of  ** _Evergreen Gardens_ ** , however, most likely wouldn’t give Eduard many leads. Ivan, being the clever man that he is, always put his best foot forward when dealing with customers in his shop. There would be no way that he would slip up there.

Tolys would be a good person to talk to. Though he was scared and jittery at everything, so it made him  _ somewhat  _ unreliable. Plus, he very rarely could bring himself to say “no” to Ivan (or anyone, for that matter). But he interacted with Ivan the most, and would easily be able to point out any of Ivan’s strange behaviors that were different from his “normal” routine (whatever the hell  _ normal  _ is for the likes of Ivan Braginsky). Eduard could also get Tolys to ask some questions that would seem harmless, and they would have to decrypt Ivan’s answers later.

“There has to be a good lead somewhere,” Eduard muttered to himself. He was writing down his idea in a notebook; it was the sixth one he had filled up in a matter of weeks. “I just have to properly sniff it out.”

Someone was playing with Tolys’ hair, which was strange, to say the least.

Of all the years they had been together, Natalya had never shown affection in  _ this  _ type of way. She occasionally showed it with her words and once in a blue moon would give Tolys a thoughtful gift. It was odd, but Tolys appreciated the nice gesture.

However, as Tolys slowly started to wake from his night’s sleep from using his laptop as a pillow, he realized that whoever was playing with his hair had a nice, gentle approach. In fact, the touch was soft, it was almost making Tolys fall back into a deep sleep again. But, he knew he was running late, and there was a lot to be done today.

Tolys’ opened his eyes and slowly sat up in his chair. His neck was sore from sleeping at an odd angle; he reached back to massage his neck just a bit. However, he discovered that half of his hair was tied up in two separate braids.

There was no way Natalya did this. No, more likely she would have shaved his head completely instead.

Tolys quickly turned around in his chair to see Feliks standing behind him with his hands behind his back. Feliks looked away. “There was a ghost trying to get you,” he lied. It was a very silly lie. “So I protected you.”

“By braiding my hair?”

“Ghosts don’t like braids; didn’t you know?” Feliks came over to stand beside him. “Plus, the braids will help bring out how wavy your hair is.” He gently began to undo the first braid in Tolys’ hair to prove his point. “See?”

Tolys chuckled and untied the second braid. “I’ll keep it in mind,” he said, smiling. He stood up and began to walk away.

“Wait! We have to do the other side, or it’ll look uneven!” Feliks added, chasing after Tolys. Feliks continued to make a ruckus as he followed Tolys, trying to braid his hair again. 

Just at the door, Tolys hushed him. “Shhh, you’ll wake up Natalya.”

Feliks glanced at the closed door and snorted. “What’s the worst she can do?  _ Yell  _ at me? Call me  _ stupid _ ?”

Tolys gulped; Feliks had no clue as to what the true extent of Natalya’s anger could do. Tolys had only seen it once in the two years they had been together; he never wanted to have it unleashed again. “Just, please. Keep it down, alright?” he said as he slowly opened the door. “You can finish braiding my hair while I’m eating breakfast.”

Feliks said nothing as Tolys entered the room. Tolys closed the door as slowly as he could, careful that the closing click would not be too jarring. Tiptoeing to the bathroom, he heard Natalya shift around in the bed. Tolys glanced at the clock; it was nearly 9:29. 8 more minutes until Natalya’s “ideal” waking up time. It didn’t give him much time to get ready, and he knew that he would have to deal with her frustration that he didn’t come up to bed last night.

_ Just keep calm, Tolys, _ he thought to himself, closing the bathroom door.  _ Just keep calm. _

Within three minutes, Tolys had finished brushing his teeth. He grabbed a random pair of underwear, pants and a shirt for the day. After he had put on his socks, he let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, feeling he was in the clear. As he turned around, he found Natalya sitting upright, against her pillow, glaring at him. She had already turned the light on and waited for him to explain himself.

“I-I’m sorry,” Tolys apologized. “I got so focused on the new write up that...t-that I fell asleep. I’m sorry.”

Natalya kept quiet at first as she thought for a moment. She threw the blankets off of her legs and walked around the bed to her boyfriend. Gently, she caressed the back of his neck and leaned in close. “Sleeping like that is going to give you a crick in your neck,” she muttered. “You should be more careful.”

Tolys shivered; her hands were  _ freezing  _ to the touch. He cradled her jaw and kissed her cheek. “I know, I know,” he sighed. He kindly removed her hands away from his neck and smiled. “I’ll make last night up to you tonight. How does that sound?”

Natalya smirked. She put a finger over Tolys’ lips and leaned closer to his ear. “Why not make it up to me now?”

“Well, I just got dressed…”

“You can always get dressed again…”

Hesitant, Tolys bit down on his lip.  _ What’s a couple of minutes _ ? He thought as they kissed. Their kiss grew more and more passionate, and she pulled him down to the bed, fingers at the buttons of his shirt...

Feliks sat on the top of the step, waiting for Tolys to come back out. He didn’t think it would take  _ this  _ long. Resting his elbows on his knees, he pouted until he heard a loud bang from the main bedroom.  _ The hell? _ He thought when he spun around. Feliks thought about knocking on the door, but as he approached it, he heard a faint moan.

_ Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew.  _ Quickly, Feliks ran down the stairs, mildly disgusted. Downstairs, there was nothing to be heard as he lingered in the kitchen.  _ She’s gonna mess up his hair after I worked so hard on it _ . Feliks plopped down in the only chair in the kitchen and groaned. He felt a strange stab of annoyance at the thought of Natalya’s hands all over Tolys, but he didn’t want to ponder it any longer. He had a much bigger problem. 

Today was the day when he would have to give the bar up. He didn’t want to say goodbye, but he basically had no choice. Tolys didn’t think it was such a big deal to make Ivan the owner of the bar, but Feliks knew so much would be lost, and so much would change in the hands of a new owner. Despite not knowing a single thing about business, the previous owner and manager gave the bar to Feliks because they knew he would keep it all the same.

History was meant to be preserved.

In about twenty minutes, Feliks heard Tolys walking down the steps and rushing over to the kitchen. Still buttoning his shirt, he only glanced at Feliks when he stepped in. He cleared his throat. “Sorry for the wait; what kind of breakfast would you like? Toast and jam? Eggs?” Tolys asked.

“Toast and jam are fine,” Feliks answered. He wasn’t feeling that hungry anymore. Watching Tolys as he made the simplest breakfast ever, Feliks took notice of the state of Tolys’ hair.  _ It’s fucking ruined _ . Feliks thought. Tolys’ hair, once with his waves more pronounced and beautiful, was now a mess. Feliks could see where Natalya had been  _ tugging  _ at it, as stay strands of hair were sticking up and out.  _ She ruins everything _ .

“Toast is done,” Tolys mentioned. He placed the plate with two pieces of toast to the side and opened a new jar of jam. “We only have strawberry,” he added. “It’s the only kind Natalya likes.”

Feliks shuffled over to the counter and began to put a small amount of strawberry jam on the toast. Every now and again, he glanced over at Tolys, sensing that all of Tolys’ stress and anxiety was gone for the time being. The air around him seemed lighter, even  _ if  _ it was by Natalya’s doing.

“Thank you,” Feliks said. The butter knife went through the bread and made a hole. Some of the jam fell through and went onto the plate. “So...I guess I have to sign that form today. To make it...official.” He knew there was no other option; he couldn't be selfish anymore. He had to do the right thing.

“I think I have a trick up my sleeve,” Tolys replied. “I revised the initial form Ivan made and tweaked some of the rules to make  _ you  _ call the shots. Ivan wants to renovate? You have to okay it first. He wants to hire a marketing manager? You have to be the one to approve.” Tolys smiled. “I've known Ivan for some time now, and I know how sneaky he can be. To trip him up, we have to be sneaky back. Eventually, he'll give up while you've gotten back on your feet. Once Ivan is out of the picture, we can search for a proper manager that you get along with!”

Feliks grinned. “Wow! You're smart!” He set the knife into the jam jar and licked the excess jam off of his thumb. “I wish we were friends  _ before _ I lost the money.” He paused. “Well, spent all of it.”

“I'm always happy to help.” The toast popped out of the toaster and Tolys grabbed the first piece. “I have faith in you, Feliks. Once we get rid of your attachment to the bar, you'll be on your feet in no time.”

“Ivan only does what's best for everyone.”

Feliks and Tolys turned around to see Natalya standing in the kitchen doorway. She was already wearing her work clothes, florally decorated scrubs, and she crossed her arms. “Why bother to go out of your way to  _ trick _ him? He's a good person, you know.”

“He's a weirdo, and I don't like him.” Feliks hissed.

Natalya smirked and turned to Tolys. “You know he'll see right through your little plan. He's not dumb. This is going to backfire on both of you.”

Tolys frowned. “Natalya, I know you love your brother and all, but there are some things you don’t know about him.”

“Oh really? Like what?”

“W-well, sometimes he’s...a little overbearing.”

Natalya scoffed. “As I said, Ivan only does what’s best for everyone. If that requires him to show some  _ tough love _ , then so be it.”

Feliks leaned on the counter to look around Tolys. “Oh really? Does that involve him breaking one of my shot glasses and threatening me?!”

Stunned, Tolys quickly turned to Feliks. “When did that happen?! You never told me that!”

“The first time I met him,” Feliks explained. “He was standing out in the pouring rain, staring at me like a  _ freak _ , and I told him to go down the road to buy an umbrella. He then barged in, knocking me over to the floor, demanded vodka and pretty much said I  _ had  _ to sell the bar to him! I refused, and he broke one of my shot glasses! And those things are expensive!”

Natalya laughed. “See? Tough love.”

“What is  _ wrong  _ with you?!” Feliks asked. Even though he could  _ easily  _ walk around Tolys to approach her (and probably start a fight he would  _ easily  _ lose), Feliks climbed on top of the counter, nearly knocking over Tolys’ plate of toast.

Calmly, Tolys stopped Feliks and helped him back on his feet on the floor. “Feliks, why didn’t you contact the police? That’s gotta be assault or something. You could press charges.”

Feliks looked away. “They don’t listen.”

“What do you mean? Of course, they do!”

“Trust me,” Feliks retorted firmly, still looking down at the counter. “I know from several experiences; they  _ don’t _ .”

Tolys frowned. Why wouldn’t the police listen? It didn’t make any sense. But Tolys wasn’t going to argue; he believed Feliks’ claim. “I’m sorry, Feliks,” he said. “You deserve better.”

Feliks gave a half smile and turned to his breakfast. His golden hair fell over his face, hiding the slight pink in his cheeks. Tolys sighed and looked down at the counter where his plate had been but discovered that Natalya had taken it for herself. With butter and jam on top, she was already munching on the toast.

“That was mine, Natalya,” Tolys stated.

She glared at him. “And?” she challenged him.

“I-I’d appreciate it if you didn’t take my food. There’s plenty of bread here for you to make toast yourself!”

“I’m a woman; men are _ supposed _ to do things for ladies.”

“I’m not a servant!” 

The tension in the room was rising; it had been a while since Tolys tried to defend himself against Natalya. In fact, it might have been the first time ever. And it was all over something trivial; toast.

Sensing the mood, Feliks gently put himself between the two and slid his plate to Tolys. “You can have mine,” he said. “I don’t mind making my own toast.” He reached for the bread and put two slices into the toaster while Natalya was scowling at him. Without saying a word, she put her two pieces of toast on top of each other and carried them with her as she made her way for the door.

“I’ll see you la--” Tolys called after her, but it was too late. The door slammed shut, and he watched her climb into her car from the kitchen window. Tolys leaned against the counter and put his head in his hands, groaning. “I can never win with her.”

“Is she okay?” Feliks asked. “Like, I mean,  _ really  _ okay? It’s like she has a few screws loose up here.” He tapped his temple.

“She’s fine,” Tolys excused automatically. “Just different.”

Feliks stared at Tolys with concern. “Yeah, I’m starting to think that different part you keep referring to is something seriously wrong about her.”

“I  _ promise _ . She just has...a different way of showing affection. That’s all.”

“You mean by being sociopathic to her lover? Interesting choice.”

“She’s not a sociopath!”

“Right,” Feliks paused. “It must run in the family or something. Ivan’s even more proof.”

Tolys leaned his head back groaned. “Ugh,  _ Ivan _ . I really don’t want to deal with him today.”

Feliks smirked. “Well, let’s not go then. That’s how I solve a lot of my problems; ignoring them.”

“No,” Tolys sighed. “We have to. He’s expecting us.” He grabbed a paper towel and wrapped up his toast to take with him. “I’ll meet you in the car, alright?”

Feliks stayed behind as he finished putting jam on his toast, grabbed a paper towel and hurried out of the door as well. Once in the car, he gave a nod to Tolys and off the went to  ** _Evergreen Gardens_ ** .

Here was the thing about Ivan Braginsky: he was clever, but not clever enough to remember to pick up the  _ little  _ things around his office. He had a thing for little chocolates, and so there would be tiny little wrappers here and there in the office. Not too many to be absolutely cluttered, but a forgotten wrapper could be found hiding behind the computer.

His plants were precious to him. Ivan seemed to have a sixth sense with them; if a customer accidentally knocked over a plant, he would be right there to catch the plant. It was too minimal to say that Ivan was protective over his plants. It was almost like he thought of himself as a father figure...to  _ plants _ .

The last thing about Ivan Braginsky: he was weird. Not in the eccentric sense, he was just  _ weird _ . There was no doubt in everyone who met Ivan Braginsky that he was weird and  _ creepy _ . The moment anyone met him, despite his friendly exterior, there was a feeling in the pit of their stomachs that told them to  _ run _ . And even though every instinct urged them to leave, they didn’t, convincing themselves that he was just different and that everything would be fine.

Feliks saw right through Ivan Braginsky and didn’t trust him a single bit. The smile was fake, the kindness was fake, the “I’m genuinely doing what’s best for you” was fake. The only quality that was true to Ivan was his weird obsession with plants. Feliks wasn’t even sure if Ivan loved his own sister the way he loved the tall sunflower plant in his office.

“I’m so glad you were able to agree with my idea,” Ivan said. He sat across from Feliks and Tolys in his desk chair. “So the three of us need to make it official then, yes? Feliks will sign, and I will sign.”

“U-um, actually,” Tolys stuttered. He laid down the papers he had written up last night on top of the desk and ran his hands over the top page to smooth it out. “I did some revisions.”

“Revisions?” Ivan asked. He wasn’t pleased. “How come? My offer was perfectly good.”

“Actually, after reading it through, it was going to put a lot of restrictions on Feliks’ part. Which, naturally, is unfair, considering it’s  _ his  _ bar after all.”

“But you see how he handles his finances, right? And how he can’t control his impulses?” Ivan’s smile had disappeared a long time ago and was replaced with a hardened scowl.

“But again, it’s  _ Feliks’ _ bar. If you two are to become a business team, you have to work together,” Tolys stated. “I made the responsibilities between you and Feliks more equal; in your edition, a lot of it was relying on you and how successful  ** _Evergreen Gardens _ ** is. I thought it would be nicer if--”

“You thought wrong,” Ivan interrupted. He forced a smile and turned to his computer. “I will print a new copy of  _ my  _ version. Things will be better if we follow that protocol.”

“I can be a pretty good person to work with, you know,” Feliks chimed in. He crossed his legs and looked at his fingernails. “Perhaps if you weren’t such a bully, we wouldn’t have this argument.”

Ivan looked over his shoulder. “Excuse me?”

“I know how people like you, Ivan, work. You’re tall and scary like the Boogieman and think you can intimidate people into doing your bidding.” Feliks leaned forward. “It won’t work on me, Ivan, because I’m not afraid of you.”

Ivan smiled in amusement. “Is that so?”

Tolys turned to Feliks and shook his head. “Feliks, please,  _ stop talking _ ,” he whispered.  _ I have everything under control. Please don’t mess this up,  _ he tried to communicate with his eyes. 

Feliks leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. He knew Ivan was playing games with them, just like Natalya said he would, and he wasn’t happy about it.

“Ivan, please. You can look over the policy I wrote now if you’d like,” Tolys suggested.

“No, thank you,” Ivan muttered. Tolys repressed a sigh as Ivan pulled up the word document on his computer. Annoyed, Feliks looked below the desk, seeing all of the electrical wires gathering to one power strip. Slipping his foot out of his shoe, Feliks slid his foot underneath the desk until he felt that his toe was on the power switch. Pressing down on the switch, Feliks looked over to Ivan’s computer and watched it switch off.

Ivan let out a soft “What the--” when the computer screen went black. He hit the side of the monitor, gently at first and then with more intensity, in the hopes that the screen would come back on. He let out a quick breath through his gritted teeth as he stood up and picked up the computer to check the wiring.

Tolys looked at Feliks, with an implicit  _ What did you do? _ written all over his face, as Feliks was forcing his foot back into his shoe. Feliks shrugged and sat back in his chair as if everything was totally fine.

Soon, Ivan turned around and glared directly at Feliks. “You’d think a grown man would know better than to touch things that don’t belong to him.” His voice was not raised, but so taut with tension it was on the verge of snapping. 

Before Feliks could answer, Tolys jumped in. “P-Perhaps it’s best that we sign this policy now? That way, you and Feliks can start working on renovating the bar.”

Ivan slowly sat back down in his chair and took a deep breath. He forced his anger away and put on a smile. “Give me a few minutes to look it over, would you?” he stated, calmly.

“Why?” Feliks asked. “Everything we’ve discussed is in the form. No need to read it through.”

Ivan smirked; he knew Feliks was quoting Ivan’s very same words. He was no fool. “Nice try,” he said. “I’ll only be a few moments.”

The room went quiet as Ivan flipped through the pages. Feeling fidgety, Feliks stood up to look at the sunflower that was towering over the office. Mildly amazed at its impressive height, Feliks smiled a little. 

“Don’t touch that,” Ivan muttered without looking up from his reading.

“I’m just  _ looking _ ,” Feliks hissed. “You and your sister  _ both _ are so judgmental, d’you know that?”

“Feliks,” Tolys said through his teeth. “Ivan’s reading.”

Feliks turned back to the sunflower.  _ I wonder what would happen if I touched this thing? _ He thought to himself. Looking over at Ivan, Feliks slowly held out to touch a single leaf of the plant. Just as his fingers were about to graze against the leaf, Ivan looked up.

“ _ Don’t _ ,” Ivan practically growled. 

With a step back, Feliks counted to ten until he tried it one last time. This time, in a flash, Ivan stood up and grabbed hold of Feliks’ wrist and pulled him away. Ivan leaned down to Feliks’ ear.

“I will  _ break  _ you,” he said in a chilling whisper. 

Tolys fought past his nearly overwhelming fear to intervene. “Ivan, _ please _ let go of Feliks.” 

“You know it’s only a flower, right?” Feliks asked with a grin. He wasn’t fazed at all by Ivan’s threat. “It’s not like it would die if I just  _ poked  _ it.” 

“But why do you need to be sticking your fingers in places where they don’t belong?” Ivan hissed. He forced Feliks to sit back down in his seat. He then walked back around the desk and sat back down, shooting a glare at Feliks. “Behave like a proper child, would you?” 

Feliks turned to Tolys with a grin. “Who knew someone could be so territorial over some dumb pl--” 

Tolys quickly clamped his hand over Feliks mouth, only to remove it immediately as Feliks had licked his palm in retaliation. Tolys laughed nervously. “D-do you have any questions so far, Ivan?” 

“No,” Ivan closed the small booklet of pages and cleared his throat. “You’ve really outdone yourself, Tolys. It’s a good contract.” 

“Thank you,” Tolys smiled. 

“I feel like there’s a ‘but’ in here somewhere,” Feliks added. 

Ivan giggled and tilted his head to the side. “Wow, you used your brain for once,” He picked up the form Tolys had written and dropped it into the paper shredder beside him. Tolys gasped and leaned over the desk to try to save the papers, but it was too late. “It’s such a shame that you waste your good skills on such silly,  _ useless _ things, Tolys. Imagine what you could be doing if you focused on important things.” 

Tolys leaned back in his chair with his head down, feeling defeated.  _ Natalya was right; why did I even bother? _ He thought to himself. 

“Now, seeing that there is only one thing left to do, shall I print a new copy of  _ my  _ contract for us to sign?” Ivan said, folding his hands in front of himself. 

“Yes,” Tolys sighed. 

“No!” Feliks protested. He pointed at Ivan. “You’re the scummiest businessman I’ve ever met! Who doesn’t ever want to compromise?!”

“I’m only doing what’s best for you, Feliks. Remember what will happen to your bar if you don’t make a deal with me.” Ivan forced a smile. 

“I already told you that I don’t make deals with the Devil!” 

Fed up with the situation, Feliks was about to storm out of the office when Tolys gently grabbed his arm and pulled him back. “Feliks, I know you’re upset,” he said, softly. “But, we have to do something about the bar now. You know what will happen if we don’t settle this, right?” 

Feliks sat back down and frowned. “I hate this,” he mumbled, pouting. 

“I know,” Tolys sighed. He gently placed his hand on top of Feliks’ hands for comfort. 

“Fine,” Feliks crossed his arms. “I’ll sign your stupid contract.” 

“Wonderful,” Ivan’s smile widened. “Now, if you would be so kind to flip the switch that you pressed earlier back on? I would greatly appreciate it.” 

“Yeah, whatever,” Feliks slid his foot out of his shoe again and pressed his toe on the power switch. Sure enough, Ivan’s computer began to boot up again. 

Ivan slowly turned to face his computer and scooted the mouse around. “This will take a while; why don’t you two browse my shop? Since Feliks seems to be fond of them, I do have a few sunflowers for sale.” 

“What am I going to do wi--?!” 

Before Feliks could finish, Tolys was dragging him out of the office and into the main part of the store. With the door now closed, Tolys heard footsteps behind him. 

“Um...welcome to  ** _Evergreen Gardens_ ** ?” Raivis stated, surprised to see them there. “Have you guys always been here?” 

“We were having a meeting with Ivan,” Tolys clarified. 

Raivis made a face and glanced at Feliks; it seemed like he knew what was going on. “I’m so sorry…” he mumbled as he walked away. 

A couple of minutes later and Ivan emerged out of his office with freshly printed papers. He had a bright smile on his face; Ivan was never one to boast, but if there was even the smallest chance of him displaying his triumph, he’d take it. And it was usually only shown with a cocky smile. 

“Here you go,” Ivan said, handing the papers to Feliks. He took out a pen from his pocket and his smile widened. “Make sure it’s legible. I  _ don’t  _ want to have to do this again.” 

“Why not?” Feliks asked. He snatched the pen from Ivan’s grasp and flipped through the pages of the contract. “Haven’t you heard that the third time’s the charm?” 

Ivan chuckled. “Superstition is for dummies. Just sign the form.” 

With a huff, Feliks quickly “signed” the form and tossed it back to Ivan. “There, happy?” 

“Very,” Ivan looked down at the signature and frowned. “This is just a bunch of swirly scribbles. I  _ told  _ you to make it legi--”

“Isn’t that what signatures are?” Feliks interrupted. He began making his way to the front door. “If you want to print it out again and have the same result, be my guest. Otherwise, what’s done is done.” Feliks stepped out of the store and walked down the street to wait by Tolys’ car. 

Emotionally drained from the meeting, Tolys closed his eyes and let out a sigh.  _ There was no reason for Ivan to destroy my work, other than to get his way.  _

Ivan took a step closer to Tolys, invading his personal space as per usual, and offered his hand. “Thank you, Tolys. It’s always a pleasure working with you.” he said. His smile was still plastered all over his face. 

Absolutely annoyed, Tolys took a step back, shook his head and made his way to the door. With his hand on the handle, he paused and looked over his shoulder. Ivan had look of dismay on his face, surprised that Tolys hadn’t returned mutual “kindness” towards him. Tolys wanted to say something snarky and rude, just to stick it Ivan, but his anxiousness got the best of him and he pushed the door open. 

“Did I say something wrong?” Ivan called after him. 

Tolys stopped in his tracks and took a deep breath. “Why do you have to be so  _ awful _ ?” 

“Awf--!”

“Yes, awful! Rude! Not only do you bully your way into getting what you want, you destroy people’s hard work!” Tolys continued. He clenched his fists to hide the fact that he was shaking. He knew he shouldn’t be talking back, as it would get back to him quickly, but he couldn’t stop himself. “You’re  _ awful _ !! You only think about yourself! You’re  _ awfully  _ selfish!” 

“How d--!!” 

The door slammed shut behind Tolys before Ivan could finish scolding. He hurried down the street to his car, seeing Feliks leaning against the passenger door. Before Feliks could say anything, Tolys interrupted him. 

“Get in the car.” he said firmly. 

“What?” Feliks replied. 

“Just get in the car!” 

Quickly, they climbed into the car, Tolys turning the ignition and glanced at the rearview mirror. Ivan had stepped out of his shop, first looked to his left and then to his right, spotting Tolys’ car. As Tolys backed the car just slightly, he could see that Ivan had a scowl on his face; a look he and his sister shared whenever they were ready to give someone a piece of their mind. Normally, Tolys would cower and take whatever verbal abuse came his way, apologizing profusely at every chance he got. 

But not today. 

Switching the car into drive, Tolys slammed his foot down on the accelerator just as Ivan had reached the car and was about to open the passenger side door. They nearly caused an accident, as Tolys hadn’t checked the traffic before he pulled out of his parking space. It didn’t matter, however; for once, Tolys was happy that he was standing up for himself. Just a little bit.

The car was silent as Tolys continued to drive the car eventually out of the city. Feliks quietly watched the scenery fly by until Tolys pulled over. He turned the car off and sighed. “Sorry, I need some fresh air,” he muttered quickly as he stepped out of the vehicle. Gently closing the door, Tolys walked around to the hood of the car and sat down, his hands in his pockets. 

He heard the door close behind him and looked to see Feliks slowly walking towards him, taking a seat beside him. “I hate to break it to you,” Feliks began. “But this air isn’t very fresh. It smells like cow shit.” 

Tolys laughed loudly at the comment. It felt good. “It does smell like cow shit,” he agreed. 

Feliks grinned. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you laugh like that before.” 

“It’s been awhile.” 

Both of them went quiet again, simply enjoying each other’s company as the wind gently blew past them. It was a beautiful day, despite everything that just happened. 

“Feliks, I’m so sor--” Tolys began. 

“It’s not your fault,” Feliks said. “If there’s anyone to blame, really, it’s me.” 

“No, no, I should have fought harder. That bar means everything to you, and to have Ivan ruin it…” 

“He’s a jerk, for sure, but I could have been smarter with my money.” Feliks pushed his hair behind his ears, only for it to immediately to go back in his face due to the wind. “I’m sorry for stressing you out.” 

“You didn’t stress me out,” Tolys turned to him. “Hey, if anything, you gave me the courage to stand up for myself today. Even though I already regret it.” 

Feliks turned to Tolys. “Don’t ever have regrets. That’s what my mom always said.” He looked up to see a bird passing over. “Yeah, what did you say to him to make him like that? I think that’s the only time I’ve seen a resemblance in him and Natalya.” 

“I just asked him why does he have to be so awful. Which, is a  _ big  _ mistake on my part. Ivan, or Natalya, don’t like to be challenged.” 

“Obviously,” Feliks paused. “Let’s hope I get another gig soon so we can get out of this stinking place for awhile.” 

Tolys smiled. “Me too; I think I need a break.” He stood up and started towards the driver’s door. “You wanna get some ice cream?” 

Feliks’ eyes lit up with excitement. “Would I?!” He quickly climbed back in the car as Tolys was starting it again. “There’s this one place that has the  _ best  _ ice cream I’ve ever had!” 

“Where is it?” Tolys asked as he pulled back onto the main road. 

“I don’t remember,” 

Tolys chuckled. “That’s alright; I’m fine with driving around until we find it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy belated Thanksgiving, if you celebrate it! I hope all of you have had enjoyable times with your family and/or friends and travel home safely wherever you are! 
> 
> I must apologize for the long chapter. I may have mentioned before that the chapters will get longer and longer as we go. There's just a lot of information and events that happen in the future chapters, it's hard to leave things out. Anyways, this was one of my favorite chapters to write for character development reasons. Please let us know what you think of the story thus far! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing this chapter! 
> 
> Next chapter update should be around December 14th! 
> 
> -Katelyn (violinia)


	9. Trip Adviser

For the past several hours, Eduard had received phone calls from some place in London, United Kingdom. At first, Eduard was ignoring the calls, assuming it to be spam. But by the second time, whoever had been calling left a voice message. Now, Eduard could speak English and understand English perfectly well, but that wasn’t the problem. 

The problem was that the caller spoke a _ kilometer a minute _. 

After spending an hour listening to the first voice message over and over, Eduard had managed to decode the message thus far: 

_ Hello! My name is Fel-----rgas and I’m calling to see if we could book Roksana Pierogi for a performance at our club here in London! I got the information from your website; I saw an ad on Facebook! She will be paid! So no worries there. *voice muffled* what was tha-----wig? Oh!! Tell Roksana I said hello! We were friends back in the day! Please call me back soon! Ciao!! _

The only thing Eduard couldn’t decipher was the name of the caller. _ Why _ did he have to talk _ so fast _? 

Eventually, Eduard called the person back, but left a message. He had forgotten about time zones. Some time after lunch, he had gotten a call back and answered. 

“Um, hello?” Eduard answered. He was trying to mentally prepare for a whole conversation in a language that he hadn’t spoken since university. 

“Hi!! Is this Eduard?” The person on the other line was very loud and very excited. It was a little overbearing. 

“Yes, it is,” Eduard paused. “You must be--”

“Feliciano Vargas! I’m so glad I finally got a hold of you! I’m calling because I was wondering if we could book Roksana Pierogi for a show!” 

Eduard hesitated. “Um, you know she is living in Poland, yes?” 

“Yes, yes, we know! But we’re looking to have a variety of queens perform at our club, which includes queens from different countries!” Feliciano clarified. 

“Queens?” 

“Yes, drag queens! Do you think Roksana would be interested?” 

“Certainly. But the only problem is that she does not have a lot of money for travel. Especially international travel.” Eduard answered. 

“Hm, that certainly is a pickle, huh? Well, no worries. I think Luddy and I can pay for her hotel at least!” 

There was a muffled voice in the background: “We’re not doing that, Feli.” 

Eduard could hear that Feliciano had put his hand over the microphone, but not well enough to stop Eduard from hearing the brief argument. 

“Why not, Luddy? Feliks is my friend!” 

“Wait, how do you know Roksana is Feliks?” Eduard asked. 

Feliciano hadn’t heard him. “Luddy, please! We have lots of money; we should do everything we can to help a performer get here!” 

“Fine; we’ll pay for the hotel.” This “Luddy” person agreed. 

“Yay!” Eduard heard the audio on the other line get clearer. “So we’ll pay for the plane ride and the hotel…”

“FELI!” 

“...so she won’t have to worry about the costs!” Feliciano concluded. “So what do you say, are you in?” 

“Uh...I am sorry, could you possibly be speaking a little slower, please?” Eduard requested. 

“Oh, sorry! I talk too fast, don’t I? I was wondering if you might agree to have Roksana come over and perform for us!” 

Eduard hesitated. “C-could I talk to her, um, manager and get back to you? I just do advertising.” 

“Yes, yes, of course! Call me back whenever you can! Thank you!!” 

With that, the phone call ended and Eduard gently set his phone down beside him, thinking: _ What the hell just happened? _

The sun was beginning to set, and Tolys still didn’t want to go home. He knew that Ivan probably had complained to Natalya by now about what happened, which meant not only would he have to deal with the future wrath of Ivan, but he would have to deal with the wrath of Natalya. 

In a last minute attempt to keep him and Feliks from going home right away, Tolys texted Eduard to see if they could come over for dinner. Eduard replied with: 

_ Sure! I wanted to talk to you and Feliks anyway about a possible opportunity! _

And so, after grabbing some last minute food to help Eduard make dinner, Tolys and Feliks arrived at Eduard’s door, exhausted. 

“Thank you for letting us come over, Eduard,” Tolys said, slipping his shoes off. “We had a terrible day.” 

Eduard took the food supplies to the kitchen. “How come?” 

“Ivan.” Feliks and Tolys said simultaneously. 

“Oh fuck.” Eduard replied. 

Tolys began to give a vague rundown of everything that had occurred that day as he, Eduard and Feliks (surprisingly) worked together to cook a decent meal. Eduard listened to every detail, shaking his head at some remarks and swearing under his breath at others. 

“And you know what? Ivan had the _ nerve _ , the absolute _ nerve _ to look at me and say ‘oh, it’s a pleasure working with you, Tolys.’ Can you fucking _ believe _that?” Tolys continued. He began setting the table haphazardly. “I’ve lost all respect for him. Ugh.” 

“I can’t believe you had respect for that guy in the first place.” Feliks was trying to not laugh at his own comment. 

Eduard snorted. “I agree.” 

Tolys sighed. “He _ does _ have a successful business. And he’s Natalya’s brother…” His voice trailed off as he fell into the chair beside him and put his face in his hands. “Ugh, _ Natalya _ .” He continued muttering under his breath, so soft that it was nearly inaudible. But not inaudible enough for Eduard and Feliks to not hear the “I fucking _ hate _her,” part. 

“Do you wanna get ice cream after this?” Feliks asked, sitting next to Tolys. 

“We’ve already had ice cream _ twice _today.” Tolys looked up over his fingers. 

“Yeah, but it always does the trick! Like one bite of ice cream and POOF! Sadness is gone.” 

Eduard sat across from them and helped himself to the food that they had made. “Well, if you don’t mind, I do have some good news. I got another call for a possible gig for Feliks.” 

“Really?! What perfect timing!” Feliks cheered. 

“There’s a catch,” Eduard added. “It’s in London.” 

“London? Like, London, England?” Tolys asked. “How did they even get our information?” 

“The guy said he saw an ad and he went to the website I created. He also says he and Feliks were friends back in the day? But I don’t understand how he would have recognized Feliks in those videos.” 

Feliks sat up in his seat and smiled. “Wait! I know this person? What’s their name?” 

Eduard stared at his plate for a moment, thinking. “Gah, I can’t remember. He talks too fast…” He picked up his fork and picked at the meal. “I should have written it down. Fe...Feli-something?” 

Feliks jumped out of his seat and clapped his hands together. “Feliciano Vargas!!” he exclaimed. 

Eduard leaned back in his chair and stared at Feliks, dumbfounded. “Holy shit, he was telling the truth,” he said softly. “Wait, where did you even pull that from?” 

“My ass,” Feliks replied. “Give me your phone, I wanna talk to Feli! It’s been so long since I’ve spoken to him!” 

“How do you even know this person?” Tolys asked, dumbfounded.

“Seriously? Eduard didn’t tell you?” 

“Like I would know!” Eduard rolled his eyes.

“Okay, okay,” Feliks sat back down. “When I was fifteen, I competed in this dance competition in London. I was the dark horse in the competition; no one thought I was going to do as well as I did. In fact, people who were placing bets believed that Feliciano would be victorious. 

“Anyways, while I was there, I actually met Feliciano and his older brother, Lovino. They were both competing, but in two different categories so they didn’t have to compete against each other. Lovino got pretty far in his set, but failed to make it to the first semi-final. Feliciano on the other hand, whew, was a force to be reckoned with, let me tell you. _ Flawless _ technique. _ Graceful _ movements. _ Stunning _ storytelling. I’m not going to lie, I was nearly _ shitting my pants _when I watched him perform, and that’s saying something!

“I forget when, but at some point, Feliciano and I got around to talking to each other. He’s the most humble dancer I’ve ever met; most dancers who are _ that good _are arrogant and the worst. But no, he’s so nice. He then told me that he was actually nervous about competing against me in the final. And I was like what?! How?!

“When the competition was over, I won by _ one point _, which is insane! Afterwards, Feliciano and I hung out for awhile until I had to come back here. We then were penpals for like, ever. He was even there for me when everything happened with my par--” 

Suddenly, Feliks’ long winded story came to a halt. His eyes grew distant as he stared at his plate. “Uh, everything that happened with my par...um...oh…” He began to fidget in his chair. The air about him had changed, and both Tolys and Eduard had a feeling what was going on. 

Feliks didn’t want to remember the death of his parents, which led Tolys to believe that Feliks had never _ grieved _properly for his family. 

“I...uh...we don’t talk about that part,” Feliks mumbled. He held out his hand towards Eduard. “Can I have your phone now?” 

Eduard hesitated. “Are you sure? You seem kind of upset.” He began pulling his cellphone out of his pocket. 

Feliks shook his head. “I’m fine,” he lied. Eduard slid the cellphone over to Feliks across the table and instructed him to call the most recent number in the logged calls. 

“So, you speak English, right?” Eduard then asked. 

“_ Of course _ . You think Feliciano and I became friends because he’s fluent in Polish?” Feliks put the phone up to his ear as it rang on the other line and grinned. “Besides, you know how rich my family was; do you _ really _ think they’d let me grow up and allow me to _ not _be fluent in like, five languages?” 

“You speak five languages?!” Tolys asked, surprised. 

“More like three or four now. No one uses Latin so I’ve forgotten most of it.” He paused. “Do you speak English, Tolys?” 

“Uh, it’s been quite some time. I think I can manage, though.” 

“He’s being modest,” Eduard chimed in. “He had the best marks in English at university; everyone practically chased him down for his help. Not to mention he studied in the U.S. for a year. He’s definitely fluent.” 

“It’s been a while, though,” Tolys mumbled. 

Finally, the line went through and someone answered the phone. The man who answered had a low and serious voice. 

“You’ve reached ** _Atomica_ **, may I ask who’s calling?” 

“Hello, is Feliciano Vargas there?” Feliks replied, in English. 

“May I ask who’s calling?” the man repeated. 

“Tell him is old, good friend!” 

“Could I have a name, please?” 

“Old, good friend!” 

The man on the other line groaned. “Hold, please,” 

Feliks gave a cheesy smile to Tolys and Eduard as he waited for someone to return to the phone. In a few moments, Feliciano came to the phone. 

“Hello? Is this Feliks?” Feliciano asked. 

“Yes! How did you know?! I was going to surprise you!” Feliks chirped. 

Feliciano laughed. “Well, I couldn’t think of any other old, good friends of mine who might be calling. Hey! I take it that you’ve been informed of our offer?” 

Feliks looked at Eduard. “The one where I perform at your place? Yes, I know about it. But, I have not much in bank account, you know?” 

“Mm-hm, I was told that might be the case. We can pay for your hotel and plane ticket, if you’d like.” 

Feliks jumped out of his seat in excitement. “Really?!” he exclaimed. “Why so much kindness after we have not been seeing each other for such long time?” 

“Well, we’re still friends, aren’t we? Plus, I know how well you perform. You’re going to make our club go crazy.” Feliciano paused. “So, what do you think?”

“I think is awesome idea!! When do you want me to come? This weekend?” 

Tolys gently tapped on Feliks’ arm to get his attention. “Maybe...I should be the one talking to, um, what was his name?” 

“Feli-ci-ano,” Feliks sounded out. “It’s like my name, but Italian.” 

“I don’t...think...that’s how it works?” Tolys commented. “Anyways, should I talk to him?” 

Feliks pondered for a moment. “Hey, Feli, my kind-of-manager would like to speak to you. Is that okay?” Within seconds, Feliks handed the phone over to Tolys, who quietly excused himself to wander to the living room to carry on the conversation. In the meantime, Eduard, with minimal help from Feliks, began to clean up the table and the kitchen. Eventually, Feliks wandered to where Tolys was sitting, trying to eavesdrop on the conversation. 

Soon, Tolys quietly ended the phone conversation and hung up. He turned to Feliks with a bright smile.

“Well?” Feliks asked. 

“We’re going to London tomor--” Tolys began. 

“YeeeeEEEEES!!” Feliks cheered. He wrapped his arms around Tolys and started to shake him in excitement. “We’re going to Loooonndoooon!!” 

Eduard, wiping a plate dry with a towel, stepping into the living room. “Wait, tomorrow? Isn’t that a bi--”

“Soon? Never!” Feliks finished. “Besides, we need a break from Mister ‘I know what’s best for you’ and his annoying sister. Right, Tolys?” 

Tolys hesitated. “Yes, we _ very _ much need a break.” he agreed. He let out a big sigh. “Even _ if _we have to go back to pack for the trip.” 

“Why don’t you two stay here for the night then?” Eduard offered. “I know how Natalya can be, and we all know that Ivan has probably already complained to her so she can make your lives a living hell. So, stay here for the night, and go home in the morning when she’s off at work.” 

“Are...are you sure?” Tolys asked, hesitant. “I don’t want to impose…”

“It’s fine. You two are my friends, and you said it yourselves: you need a break. I have some extra blankets and pillows in my bedroom closet. The couch pulls out into a futon, so as long as you two are okay with sharing a bed--”

“More than okay,” Feliks said under his breath.

“--you guys have a place to sleep.” Eduard concluded. 

Looking to each other, Tolys and Feliks nodded in agreement. “Alright, we’ll stay here.” Tolys agreed, smiling. 

Eduard smiled as well. “Good,” he stated. “Then let’s get everything set up.” 

The futon wasn’t the most comfortable bed in the world, but it somehow still beat out sleeping at home next to Natalya. Tolys didn’t wake up until 8:00; a much later time than usual. He found himself wrapped up tight in the blanket and with Feliks lying close beside him. Actually, Feliks was practically lying _ on _Tolys, with his head resting on Tolys’ chest. The blanket Eduard had given them for the night was thin and hardly kept in any warmth. Feliks merely gravitated towards Tolys for warmth (or so Tolys silently concluded…). 

But the sign of affection was rather nice, and Tolys found himself content just lying there as Feliks continued to gently snore away. Eventually, Tolys drifted back to sleep for a few moments until he heard Eduard’s bedroom door creak open. 

“Morning,” Eduard greeted as he stepped into the kitchen. “Would you like some coffee?” 

Tolys sat up ever so slightly, but immediately laid back down when Feliks groaned in protest. “Sure,” Tolys replied. He gently pushed Feliks aside so that he was lying on his back instead. “Maybe make some extra for Feliks too.” Tolys was ready to properly sit up and climb out of the futon when Feliks suddenly turned back over, wrapping his arms around and resting his head on Tolys. Surprisingly not annoyed at all, Tolys chuckled and attempted to push Feliks away again. “It’s time to wake up,” 

“Never,” Feliks mumbled. 

“Don’t you want to pack so we can go to London today?” 

Feliks thought for a moment. “Good point, but I’m cold. And you’re warm.” 

“Eduard’s making coffee; you’ll warm up that way, won’t you?” 

“I _ guess _.” 

As the morning passed by, Feliks and Tolys readied themselves for the long day ahead of them. Not only were they getting on a plane in several hours, but they had to quickly run back to the house and pack for their last minute trip. By 8:30, they said goodbye to Eduard. The morning traffic was fading on the drive back, and as they drew closer to his house, Tolys could feel his grip on the steering wheel getting tighter and tighter. 

_ I’m dead. I’m totally dead. _He thought to himself as they pulled into the small driveway. He knew she wasn’t going to be the slightest bit happy with him; after all, he never called her to keep her informed of what the plan was. He also knew that she’d be infuriated once she heard about the plan to go to London. 

Turning the car off, Tolys and Feliks sat in silence, staring at Natalya’s car sitting beside them. Oh how he wished she was at work already. 

“Ready for a funeral?” Tolys mumbled. 

“Who died? Ivan?” Feliks asked, trying to lighten the mood. “Just picture it; we’d both look so good in black. Talk about a power couple.” 

Tolys chuckled, his hand lingering on the door handle. “Who’s wearing the suit in this fictional scenario?” 

“You, of course! I mean, _ duh _.” 

The two of them climbed out of the car and as they stepped into the house, they immediately found Natalya sitting on the stairs, glaring at them. All of the lights were off, and all of the shades were drawn, making the house incredibly dark. The door clicked shut and Tolys stumbled around to turn on a light. 

“G-good morning, Nataly--” Tolys began. 

“Where. The _ fuck _. Were you last night?” Natalya hissed. 

“At Eduard’s--”

“_ Why _ ?” Natalya stood up from where she was sitting and stepped down from the staircase. “How _ dare _ you stay away a _ whole _ night and not even bother _ calling _me?!” 

“Nata--”

“Were you hiding in cowardice?! Of _ course _you were, you have no spine!” 

Tolys started to back away but bumped into the wall behind him. There was no escape. 

“You say something _ rude _ and _ awful _ to my brother, and instead of standing your ground, you just _ run _ . _ Coward _ ! You _ know _how sensitive Ivan is!!” Natalya approached him and clenched her fists. “What’s gotten into you, lately? Huh?” 

“Ivan destroyed my document and d-doesn’t _ listen _!” Tolys tried to defend himself despite knowing it would be a losing battle. 

“So _what_? I _told _you that he does what’s best for _everyone_! And you went ahead and challenged him anyway! He could have been a lot _meaner_, but he wasn’t! You should be _thanking _him for being so kind! You _ungrateful_, _stupid_ _piece of shit_!” 

Natalya raised her hand, ready to slap Tolys across the face. It was something she had done before, only two times prior, but nonetheless, she had done it before. Tolys flinched, but was surprised when he felt nothing land upon his face. 

Opening his eyes, he found Feliks holding onto Natalya’s wrist and promptly smacked her with her own hand. “Why are you hitting yourself?” he asked, fighting a grin. He let go of her wrist and took a step back, smirking. “Weren’t you taught to keep your hands to yourself?” 

Natalya clenched her jaw and looked to Tolys. “I want this rodent _ out _of my house!! Immediately!!” she shouted. 

Tolys blinked. “Why?” 

“He’s a bad influence. On _ you _.” 

Tolys glanced at Feliks. “Feliks? A _ bad _ influence? _ On me _?” He was confused. If anything, it was Feliks who gave Tolys the courage to stand up for himself for once. “I don’t understand.”

“Do I _ look _ like I’m joking?” Natalya hissed. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you, other than this stupid, _ strange _ rat that’s been living in our house is a bad influence on you and your behavior!” 

“We’re going to London,” Tolys blurted. He didn’t know how else to approach the subject with her other than to just say it at point blank. 

Natalya grimaced. “We’re not going anywhere,” she stated. 

“N-Not _ you _, Feliks and I are going to London.” 

Natalya began to laugh; it started off as a strange, quiet giggle before morphing into a disturbing cackle. She took a step closer to Tolys so that she was right in his face. “You’re what, now?” 

Tolys hesitated. “We’re...going to...Lon--”

“You’re not going anywhere, Tolys,” Natalya whispered. Tolys gulped; she was even more terrifying like _ this _ than she was yelling. Natalya looked to Feliks. “And neither are you, _ rat _. Both of you are going to apologize to Ivan.” 

“Nope, we’re going to London,” Feliks chimed in. 

“Did I _ fucking _ stutter?!” Natalya hissed. She turned her attention back to Tolys. “Now, why don't we rehearse your apology? How would you apologize to Ivan? And make it good; he was _ very _upset last night.” 

“I-I'm sorry I called you awful. U-uh, you're not...awful? Y-you're a good person, Ivan. I-in fact, v-very good and v-very nice. I'm s-sorry I hurt you,” Tolys stammered. 

Natalya nodded. “Mm-hm, and how would you apologize to me?” 

Tolys gulped. “I-I'm sorry I didn't call you or text you, Natalya. I d-didn't mean to...worry you.” 

Natalya smiled, satisfied. “Good,” She looked to Feliks. “And Feliks, how would you apologize to my loving and caring brother?” 

“Get bent, you dick,” Feliks answered. 

“Unacceptable, try again,” Natalya stated. 

“Suck my ass,” 

“Try again—” 

“Go _ fuck _yourself.” 

Natalya took a deep breath and sighed, knowing that she wouldn't get the answer she wanted from Feliks. “Very well,” she huffed, crossing her arms. “Vanya! You can come out now!!” 

Tolys and Feliks looked at each other, stunned, as Ivan stepped out of the dark dining room. Ivan greeted them with a creepy, childish smile. “Apology accepted, Tolys. I knew you did not mean what you said yesterday,” he said. Tolys let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding. Ivan’s smile then disappeared as he scowled at Feliks. “As for you, Feliks, I'm afraid your apology needs a little more work.” 

“Nah,” Feliks scoffed. 

“I am helping you with your failing business. Why would you behave in such a manner?” Ivan asked. 

“Because I never asked for your help! Or anyone's help, for that matter!” Feliks put his hands on his hips. “I don't understand how everyone keeps forgetting that!” 

“You should learn to be grateful, Feliks,” Ivan continued. He took a step forward. “It would make business between the two of us--” 

“Much better, yadda, yadda, yadda. Sorry, I can't be cordial with someone who barges in my bar, knocks me over, nearly gives me a concussion from it, and breaks my property!!!” 

Ivan smirked and chuckled. “You should have called the police if I scared you so much.”

Feliks narrowed his eyes. “Or maybe you shouldn't be such an ass--” 

“I'll work with Feliks on a better apology, Ivan,” Tolys said. “But we really need to pack for our trip. Our flight is in two hours.” 

Ivan tilted his head. “I don't recall that being put on the calendar.” 

“_ What _calendar?” Tolys asked. 

“Ivan and I share a calendar. We write our schedules on it. Including yours, Tolys,” Natalya informed him. 

“I don't remember ever discussing this!” Tolys exclaimed. 

Feliks narrowed his eyes at Natalya and Ivan. “Weird...” 

“It's not weird when you're family!” Natalya’s cheeks were slightly pink: not from shame, but anger. “Besides, I already _ told _ you, Tolys: We're. Not. Going. _ Anywhere _.” 

“I-it's Feliks and I...we're the ones going on the trip,” Tolys stuttered. He started to walk backwards towards the staircase slowly. “I-I know it's sudden, and I'm sorry, Natalya…” 

“You don't have to explain yourself, Tolys,” Feliks stated as began walking up the steps. “They're not gonna listen to you anyway. Their ears don't work.” 

“My ears work perfectly fine!” 

Feliks stopped in his tracks and groaned. “Do you ever stop screaming? _ God _, it's so annoying.” He looked over his shoulder. “I feel like we could all be friends if you guys weren't so weird. Were the two of you dropped on your heads as children? Or are you two secretly part of the Addams family?? Like, what is your deal?!” 

“Our childhood is _ none _of your business,” Ivan said sternly. 

“Huh, that's funny, because you've seemed to make _ my _ business _ your _business and that's totally unfair!” Feliks turned away and sighed. “Whatever, I have more important things to do than deal with this BS.” 

Silently, Tolys followed Feliks up the steps and into his bedroom. As he was pulling the suitcase out of the closet, he heard Feliks close the door and lock it. 

“When are you going to stand up for yourself?” Feliks asked in a whisper, looking over his shoulder.

“What do you mean?” Tolys could not bring himself to turn around.

“Don't you see what they're doing? How can you just..._ take _ their abuse towards you?!” 

Tolys hesitated. He felt his hands beginning to shake, and willed them to stop. “W-What I said was wrong, an-and I should have been more respons--” 

“Oh my God, they have you so brainwashed, it's unbelievable,” Feliks said shaking his head, wide-eyed, as he sat down on the edge of the bed. “Do you_ seriously _ think they're _ not _abusive towards you?” 

“No, they're just different,” Tolys answered reflexively, sounding robotic to his own ears. 

Feliks couldn’t believe this. “Tolys! They practically _ planned _ this intervention to get what they wanted!! I mean, where was Ivan’s car? Certainly not in the driveway! The weirdo probably parked two streets over and _ walked _ here so he could discreetly hide in this house. Who even knows how long the both of them waited for us to get here!” Feliks took a deep breath, trying to keep himself calm and from raising his voice a little. “Not to mention, Natalya was going to _ hit _you!! Don’t you think that’s a little messed up?!” 

Tolys grabbed a few pieces of clothing and placed them in the suitcase, trying to distract himself as he replied, “I-it's fine, it d-doesn't hurt that much when she hits me.” 

The room quickly went silent, with Feliks staring at Tolys with concern. He looked away, his throat tensing up. “Don't you hear yourself?” he muttered. 

“It's really fine,” Tolys insisted, already wishing he could take those last words back.

“No, it's not.” How could he make Tolys understand? He tried a different approach.“If _ I _said those words after every time I got beat up, would that just suddenly make it all okay?” 

“Of course not, but that's different.” How exactly it was different, Tolys wasn’t sure.

“Is it, though?” Feliks stood up and moved closer, putting his hand on Tolys’ shoulder, forcing him to meet his eyes. “Please,” he pleaded. “You _ have _to see that what they're doing to you is not okay.” 

Tolys pulled away on instinct. “That's just how Natalya is, though.” Deep down, Tolys knew exactly what Feliks was getting at. At the start of his relationship with Natalya, some small part of him always told him to run. But he couldn't; she was unbelievably beautiful (and hadn't shown her worst side yet), and now he was afraid of what Ivan might do if Tolys broke his little sister's heart. Natalya had told him plenty of horror stories about her previous ex-boyfriends to hammer that fear home.

“The only time it's okay for her to hit you is if _ both _ of you have consented to that,” Feliks stated. “Any other time? It's _ definitely not _ okay.” 

Feliks had a point, a very _ good _ point. Tolys didn’t mind rougher play in the bedroom, but outside the bedroom was another matter entirely. But Tolys still thought the punishment she gave him was entirely warranted given he hadn’t called her last night and he was far too afraid to break things off with Natalya. All of that time together, and for it to result in shambles seemed like such a waste…and besides, Natalya had frequently reminded him she was the best he was ever going to get. That thought depressed him so deeply he had to change the subject.

“Where are your things? I think we can just share a suitcase,” Tolys asked, praying Feliks would just drop it and not notice his hands shaking again. 

Feliks noticed, but turned away and sighed. “Alright,” he mumbled, not wanting to argue anymore. He walked out of the room, soon coming back with a small pile of clothes and his toiletries. As he folded his clothes and tossed them in the suitcase, he kept glancing at Tolys occasionally, trying to gauge how he was feeling. “I’m sorry,” Feliks added sincerely. 

“For what?” 

“For talking about such a sensitive topic,” he clarified. “I just...I dunno. I don’t like seeing people I care about...being hurt all the time. And people like Ivan and Natalya just...I don’t like them and the way they treat you.” 

Tolys gently put his hand on Feliks’ shoulder and smiled. “Thank you for caring,” he said softly. “Really, thank you.” _ At least one person does. _ He didn’t know where that thought came from. 

Feliks smiled as he watched Tolys close up the suitcase and pulled it off of the bed. They walked out of the room and slowly climbed down the stairs, each doing their best not to make eye contact with Ivan or Natalya. 

“I’m still waiting for my apology, Feliks,” Ivan said as Feliks walked past. 

Feliks took a deep breath and forced a smile.. “Hey, how old are you?” 

“None of yo--”

“None of my business, got it. Well, you’re a grown man, right?” 

Ivan hesitated, unsure as to where Feliks was going. “Yes.” 

“Maybe act like it sometime?” 

“The same could go for you, my friend,” Ivan smiled. “So why not be the better person and apologize to me?” 

Feliks turned around. “I’m not your _ friend _.” He started to make his way for the door. 

“Well, perhaps not right now, but we can become better friends in the future. Maybe if yo--”

“I’m not apologizing! I said what I said!” He turned around and pointed an accusatory finger towards Ivan. “And quite frankly, there was no reason for Tolys to apologize to you either. _ You _ should be apologizing for destroying his hard work! _ You _should be apologizing for making him anxious all the time. If there’s anyone here who deserves an apology, it’s Tolys!” 

The house was silent as Ivan stared coldly at Feliks. His usual smile was long gone and his fists were starting to clench at his sides. He kept quiet as Feliks and Tolys left the house and packed the car. 

“Feliks,” Tolys whispered across the car. “Please, just...apologize. Or he and Natalya will _ never _let it go.” 

Ignoring Tolys’ comment, Feliks climbed into the passenger seat and slammed the door shut. With a sigh, Tolys opened the driver’s side door and glanced up to see Natalya and Ivan standing on the porch. Nervously, Tolys waved at them. “I-I’ll call you when we land, Natalya. Okay?” 

Natalya looked up to her brother and muttered something quickly in Russian. Ivan replied, snapping at his sister. They started having a small argument and Tolys slowly climbed into his seat and started the car. Eventually, Natalya stomped down from the porch and stood at the driver’s window. 

Sighing, Tolys rolled the window down. “I suppose you’d like your goodbye ki--” he began. 

“Tell me when you’re coming home,” she snapped. Silently, Feliks glanced over at her, finding her statement _ very _odd. She always seemed to say the same thing when they left for trips, never anything else. 

“I said I’d call you when we land in London,” Tolys added. “I’ll be sure to call you when we’re leaving too.” He hesitated. “Do you want me to call you before bed?”

“Don’t be _ ridiculous _. Just do what I asked.” Natalya finished, walking away. 

As Tolys closed the window, he saw that Ivan was waving goodbye from the porch with a forced smile. It was clear that he, just like Natalya, was unhappy with Tolys travelling so far away. Being so far away meant that contact between the two of them would be scarce, and Ivan _ clearly _didn’t like that. 

Tolys understood to a point why Natalya was possessive over him, but Ivan? He had no clue. There were times Tolys felt that Ivan was _ infatuated _with him or something.

Glancing at Feliks, Tolys silently put the car in reverse and slowly backed out of the driveway. Tolys offered to turn the radio on, but Feliks gave no answer. As they drove to the airport, neither of them said a word for a very long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Posting the new chapter earlier today because I have a Christmas party to go to this evening and didn't want to forget posting it when I got home tonight. 
> 
> Anyways, OOOF what a chapter. That's all I gotta say about that. The next chapter will hopefully be on the 28th; however, I will be away on vacation and I'm not 100% sure if the house my family is renting has WiFi (I know, it's the end of 2019, you think it would? But it's not listed on the amenities sooo....). I will do my best to get the next chapter up when I can, but it may have to wait until 2020. 😢 
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Feel free to leave a comment or critique! 
> 
> -Katelyn (violinia)


	10. Hello London!

After landing in London, Feliks and Toys stood amongst the crowd, watching suitcases go round and round on the conveyor belt, waiting to spot their own baggage. As they waited, Tolys worked up the courage to call Natalya, but there was no answer. Relieved, he decided not to leave a message.

Of course, Feliks was the first to spot their suitcase come tumbling down and ran over to grab it. But naturally, he struggled to lift the suitcase off of the conveyor belt, which resulted in Feliks running around in a circle as he held onto the handle. Eventually, Tolys helped him and carried the suitcase beside him as they made their way to the exit. 

“Feliciano said he would come and pick us up?” Tolys asked. 

“Uh-huh,” Feliks answered, doing his best to keep up with Tolys’ quick pace. “You told him to make a big sign with my name, right?” 

“Um, I might have?” Tolys thought for a moment. He was trying to think back to the phone call; had there been any mention of a sign? 

The two of them rounded the corner to the main lobby and were greeted by a larger crowd. Feliks, of course, started wandering around the crowd in search of his old friend. It took every remaining ounce of energy Tolys had to keep up with Feliks; he was worried that he’d lose the short Feliks amongst the people. 

“Feliks? Feliks!” 

Miraculously, Feliks was able to hear someone shouting his name over the loud noise in the lobby. He spun around a couple of times until he saw Feliciano jumping up and down in the middle of the crowd, waving. The two of them made way to an opening in the crowded lobby, cheered and held hands as they jumped around in a circle. 

“It is so good to be seeing you!!” Feliks said happily. “It has been such long time!” 

“I know, I can’t believe it!!” Feliciano replied. “We have so much catching up to do! How have you been? What have you been up to?” 

Feliks rolled his eyes at himself. “ _ Lord _ , where do I start? It has been rollercoaster since, well, you know.” 

“I can imagine,” Feliciano frowned. “You can be honest with me, are things okay back home?” 

“I’m fine,” Feliks answered, brushing Feliciano’s concern off. He looked over to where Tolys was standing and smiled. “This is my “manager,” Tolys! Tolys, come say hi!!” 

Tolys quickly came over to them and shook hands with Feliciano, giving a small introduction of himself. “I would like to thank you for this wonderful opportunity,” he added. “Feliks is just getting back to dancing, and I think doing some performing internationally will really help.” 

Feliciano nodded. “Anything for a good friend!” 

“Feli!” 

A tall man with blond hair squeezed through the crowd and stood next to Feliciano. “Can you tell me where you’re going next time? I went to the bathroom for two minutes and I came back and you were missing.” 

“Sorry, Luddy! I saw Feliks and got excited! I didn’t mean to scare you!” Feliciano replied. 

“It’s alright; I figured you were fine. It’s just so crowded in here.” Ludwig turned his attention to the two guests. “You must be Tolys and Feliks; it's nice to meet you both.”

Feliciano gave a cheesy grin. “Feliks, Tolys, this is my husband, Ludwig.” 

“Shit, you can get married here?!” Feliks asked, glancing at Tolys. “That's amazing!” 

“How long have you two been married?” Tolys asked. 

“Our first anniversary is coming up! I'm so excited; I have so many surprises for Luddy!” Feliciano answered. 

“Ah, congratulations!” Tolys said happily. 

Feliciano gently took the suitcase from Tolys and handed it to Ludwig. “Shall we catch up some more during the car ride? I’m excited to hear everything about you two!” 

The four of them walked out of the airport, Feliciano and Ludwig holding hands until they reached the car. The two of them worked together to lift the relatively heavy suitcase into the trunk. As they all settled into the car, Feliciano made sure to move the passenger seat up ever so slightly so Tolys had more leg room. 

“So, is our hotel fancy?” Feliks asked, leaning forward. 

“Please put your seatbelt on,” Ludwig muttered, starting the car with a press of a button. 

“Or is it dingy?” Feliks finished, ignoring Ludwig’s request. 

“It’s a typical 4-star hotel. Please put your seatbelt on,” Ludwig answered. 

Feliks clumsily reached back, smacking his hand around on the back seat, until he was able to find the seatbelt and fastened it. “Ooh, 4-star! Fancy!” 

The drive to the hotel wasn’t long. In fact, it would have been a shorter ride if there hadn’t been so much traffic. Once reaching the hotel, Ludwig was kind enough to carry Tolys’ and Feliks’ suitcase inside and checked them into the hotel. Tolys and Feliks took the elevator up to their room, promising Ludwig and Feliciano that they would come right back down to go see the club. Entering the room, they were surprised to find the room so cold and only containing a single King sized bed. 

“It’s probably just a mistake,” Tolys mentioned. “I’m sure we can get a different room with two beds.” 

Feliks ran ahead and jumped onto the bed, sinking into the dense blanket and sheets. “Nah,” he replied. His voice was muffled from the bedding. “This is good.” 

“Are you sure? Don’t you want your own bed?” Tolys asked, watching Feliks roll over onto his back. 

“I’m sure,” Feliks jumped to his feet and grinned. “It’s not like we’ve never shared a bed before anyways.” 

Tolys laughed nervous and set the suitcase besides the bed. “I know, but the last time you had a performance, you wanted your own bed.” 

Thinking for a moment, Feliks gently linked his arm with Tolys and shrugged. “It won’t bother me,” he repeated, poking Tolys’ nose. “Boop.” 

Tolys smiled, not thinking much of Feliks’ gesture. “Okay, okay, I won’t ask then.”

Once they had reunited with Ludwig and Feliciano, the four of them climbed back into the car and made their way to  ** _Atomica_ ** . Despite the relatively short ride, Feliks and Feliciano reminisced about the dance competition years back, leaving Ludwig and Tolys in silence. As soon as they arrived at the club, Feliks jumped out of the car to take a look at the building. 

“Wow! This is so much bigger than my place,” he commented. He looked up to Ludwig. “How many people come here? Thousands?” 

“Somewhere around a thousand; we stopped keeping diligent track of it once business was really booming,” Ludwig answered. “Nights with a drag performance tend to have higher attendance.” 

“Ah, it will be so crowded that no one will be able to be coming inside anymore?!” Feliks asked. 

“I didn’t say that, exactly,” 

“I knew I was the best!” 

"I didn't say that either." Ludwig groaned. 

The four of them walked into the empty club, first noticing the charming Spaniard drying some glasses with a clean towel. A shorter man emerged from the bathroom, staring at his phone. 

" _ Buenos días _ , Ludwig and Feli! I'm surprised you guys are here so early," the bartender said. 

"The drag queen who is performing tonight is here. We're just showing her around," Feliciano explained. "Feliks, meet Antonio our bartender. Antonio, meet Feliks, also known as Roksana Pierogi." 

Antonio stepped around the corner to shake Feliks' hand. "Feliks, welcome! We've heard so much about you from Feli," Antonio began. "I can't wait to see you perform and how your style compares to Mirage's." 

Feliks smiled. "Nice to meet you, Antonio! I will ask you to make the most alcoholic drink you can tonight! You can do that, right?" 

"Sure, that would be my margarita. I must warn you, they are very strong." Antonio clarified. 

"Nothing is too strong for me!" Feliks paused, noticing that the man, who was low sitting at the bar, was Feliciano's brother. He patted the man on the shoulder. "Heey! You're what's-his-face, right? Feli's brother?" 

"Yes, Lov--" Lovino began. 

"The wine, wasn't it?" Feliks concluded. He was happy with himself that he remembered the name; he was always  _ terrible  _ with names. 

Lovino glared at him. "It's  _ Lovino _ ." 

"Is same thing, yes?" 

Before Lovino could shout something he would most likely regret later, Ludwig wisely interjected himself into the conversation. “Feliks, I’d like you to meet someone. We’ll just go to the dressing room behind the stage…”

“Oh my God! Who is it? Someone famous?” Feliks asked, following Ludwig to backstage. He gasped in excitement. “Is it--”

“No,” Ludwig interrupted. “She’s our in-house drag queen. She performs frequently for us.” The two of them stopped in front of a rather large door and Ludwig knocked on it twice. “She’s quite relieved that you’re performing this weekend; as a professor out in the real world, she’s got a lot on her plate.” 

“Professor?” Feliks asked. “She has a day job?” 

Before Ludwig could answer, the door opened and a man with long, blond hair and of average height leaned against the door frame. “Hello, Ludwig, what do you want?” he asked, exasperated. The man looked tired, as if he hadn’t slept in a couple of days. 

“I’m sorry, am I disturbing you, Francis?” Ludwig asked, crossing his arms. “I thought you’d like to meet the queen who’s performing in  _ your  _ place this weekend.” 

Francis’ blue eyes shifted down to see Feliks and he quickly smiled warmly. “Ah! You must be Roksana!” he cheered. Pushing Ludwig aside, Francis took Feliks’ hand and shook. “It’s so nice to meet you! Feliciano has told me  _ so  _ much about you! I can’t wait to see you perform!” He paused, realizing he was rambling like a crazy fan and hadn’t introduced himself. “Sorry! My drag persona is Mirage Voilà, but when I’m out of drag, I’m Francis.” 

Feliks grinned, happy to be in good company. “You can call me Feliks!” he replied.

“Good, you two seem like you’ll get along nicely,” Ludwig commented. “Francis, I’ll leave it to you to give Feliks the rundown of how things work around here.” 

Francis smirked smugly. “Yes, sir,” 

Ludwig sighed as he walked away. “Don’t get smart with me,  _ please _ . I get enough of that from my brother.” 

With Ludwig gone, Francis stepped aside to let Feliks inside the dressing room. At first, Feliks was amazed at how much stuff Francis had in the room. So many gowns, so many bodysuits, pieces of jewelry, and boxes that were organized for makeup. Feliks couldn’t help but admire it all, and was reminded of how much stuff  _ he  _ used to own before his financial crisis. 

“You made all of this?” Feliks couldn’t help but wonder. He ran his hands over the many outfits that were hanging on a moveable clothing rack. 

“Some of it, yes. A bodysuit and a leotard aren’t too hard to sew,” Francis answered. “The gowns and tear-aways, I had to buy.” 

Feliks gently pulled out a beautiful gown covered in sequins, letting his fingers carefully go over each shimmering circle. He soon felt envious, and had to fight the urge to snatch the gown and run for the hills. “I used to have things like this,” he mentioned. 

As he was about to go into some detail about what happened, Francis stopped him. “You’ll have these things again, don’t worry,” he comforted, putting a gentle hand on Feliks’ shoulder.  _ Has he already heard about my situation?  _ Feliks thought to himself, trying to ignore the rising heat in his cheeks. 

Francis smiled. “For the weekend, feel free to borrow anything you’d like.” 

Feliks’ eyes lit up in excitement. “Anything and everything?!” he asked. 

“Well,” Francis’ eyes went over to his jewelry box. “Except for a certain pair of earrings. Other than that, borrow anything you’d like.” 

“Which pair is that?” Feliks asked, looking over his shoulder. 

Francis quietly stepped over to the box and opened it, taking a pair of sparkly, stunningly made diamond earrings. Feliks’ jaw dropped in awe. Oh how he  _ wanted  _ those pair of earrings. 

“Okay, I have to say, is no fair you show me prettiest earrings in the whole world and then say I can’t have them!” Feliks joked around. 

Francis chuckled. “Well, these belonged to my mother. I like to keep them close.” 

Though he had said it in a gentle tone, Feliks sensed a sadness in his words, a type of sadness that felt all too familiar. Francis’ words were coded:  _ These were my mother’s, and these are all I have left of her.  _ Feliks could relate to it all too well; he kept many things of his parents after they died, and he made sure they were kept safe with other family members, even  _ if  _ he could still sell them for money. He was desperate, but he still had to maintain decency. 

Feliks nodded respectfully and put his hands in his pockets. “I won’t touch them,” he promised. “Well, I will do my best.” It was the honest truth; Feliks would do his best to respect Francis’ wishes, but sometimes he had urges and sometimes those urges got the best of him. 

Francis carefully put the earrings back in their place and closed the jewelry box. “So, which dress would you like to try on first?” he asked. He turned around to face Feliks with his hands on his hips. “You really seem to like the purple and blue sequin one. Wanna try it on?” 

Feliks hesitated. “Sure,” he answered. “It is going to be too long, though.” 

“So? Isn’t it still fun to try things on?” Francis said as he pulled the gown off of the rack. “I hear you’re a wonderful dancer. I’m hoping you can teach me a few tricks before you head back to Poland.” 

Feliks grinned as he started to take his shoes and clothes off to try on the dress. “Yes! I know you will not be performing, but I would love to be seeing you dance!” He stepped into the gown and Francis kindly zipped it up in the back. “Oh, and yes, I can show you a few of my tricks. As long as you are fast learner!” 

“I like to think of myself as such,” Francis said. He took a few steps to look at Feliks in the dress. He smiled. “That dress suits you,” he stated. “I can make it shorter for you.” 

“What?” Feliks stared at Francis wide eyed. “But this is  _ your  _ dress!” 

“Ah, but I never wear it. I don’t even remember the last time I wore it on stage. I have far too many dresses anyway.” 

“W-why so kind when we only just met?” Feliks asked. 

“Aren’t queens supposed to be supportive of each other?” Francis asked, somewhat concerned. From where Feliks stood, it didn’t seem like Francis was thinking twice. “I’ve been that vindictive queen before, and I’ve known others who’ve been vindictive towards me. It’s stupid and childish. It’s a past I’d like to put behind me.” 

There were no words for Feliks’ gratitude; the only thing Feliks felt he could do was give Francis a hug. Francis returned the hug and patted Feliks’ back. Pulling away from the embrace, Feliks smiled. “Does this mean we are like, drag sisters now?” he asked. 

“We can be,” Francis answered. 

“YES! I have always wanted a drag sister of some kind!” Feliks cheered, jumping up and down a little. He reached down to pull the bottom of the dress up over his feet so he wouldn’t trip. As best as he could, he started running out of the room to the main dancefloor. “Now if you do not mind, I have to go show Tolys my dress.” 

While Feliks and Francis were talking in the dressing room, Tolys had plenty of logistics to go over with Ludwig and Feliciano. He had a couple of contracts to sign, which Feliks also would need to sign eventually. Ludwig ran through how the evening would go; Feliks needed to be in drag and ready to perform no later than an hour before the performance began (Ludwig also noted that  _ every  _ drag queen had to follow this rule, despite Francis ignoring the rule 90% of the time). A playlist of some kind needed to be created as well for the DJ. 

“Does Roksana have a typical routine that she uses?” Feliciano asked. 

“What do you mean?” Tolys replied. 

“Does she have a set of songs that she always uses? Or does she like to mix it up?” Feliciano clarified. 

Tolys bit his lip in hesitation. “Knowing Roksana, she probably likes to mix it up.” 

Feliciano nodded and looked to Ludwig. “I guess we’ll ask once Feliks and Francis are done talking.” 

Ludwig handed Tolys a small envelope. “Here’s Roksana’s check. I prefer to give the payment to any performers _before_ they perform. That way, you guys can enjoy yourselves after the performance and don’t have to chase us down for the check.” He then hesitated. “Just don’t _tell _Roksana that’s she’s already been paid. We always give the checks to the managers because we had a couple of acts who just left after they got the check and didn’t bother performing.” 

“What?!” Tolys gasped. He couldn’t believe that anyone would be so rude. “You don’t have to worry about us; we’re here for the whole weekend. And in fact, we’re ecstatic to be here. It’s been awhile since I’ve had a vacation and quite frankly, I needed a break from Nat--” Tolys stopped himself.  _ Don’t overshare, Tolys. You  _ just  _ met these people.  _

“Well, it’s good to hear that you are here for the long haul,” Ludwig said. “We look forward for Roksana’s performance this evening.” 

Just then, something suddenly whizzed by Tolys’ ear. Tolys quickly turned around and soon saw that there was no one around. He took a few steps backwards, not paying attention fully, wondering where the rubber bands were coming from. Turning his attention back to Ludwig, he noticed that a rubber band was heading straight for Ludwig’s face. Fortunately, Ludwig caught it and threw it on the floor. 

“Gilbert! How many times do we have to talk about your damn rubber band gun?!!?” Ludwig hollered. 

Someone peeked around the DJ booth, the person who Tolys assumed to be this “Gilbert,” and grinned. “What are you talking about, Luddy?” 

Ludwig groaned and glanced at Tolys. “I’m sorry, Tolys. Please excuse my brother. He never grew up past the age of 5.” He took a deep breath and turned his attention towards Gilbert. “You know  _ exactly  _ what I’m talking about, Gilbert,” he added, marching over to the DJ booth. “That’s it, I’m confiscating it.” 

Gilbert quickly stood up and hid the toy gun behind him. “Why do you have to ruin fun?” 

“Because someone could get hurt!” 

Tolys silently watched as Ludwig chased his older brother around the bar in an attempt to take the toy gun away from him. Tolys couldn’t help but wonder if this was a common interaction in this place or if this was something unusual. 

“Tolys!!!!” 

Quickly turning around, Tolys saw Feliks running towards him in a rather large, sparkly gown. Despite the fact that he was holding the skirt of the dress up so he could run, Feliks managed to trip over his feet and fell (gracefully, interestingly enough) on the floor. Gathering himself up, Feliks dusted off the dress and calmly walked up towards Tolys. 

“Do you like my dress?” he asked, with a grin. He began to spin around, slowly, just so that every sequin on the dress would sparkle. 

“Yeah, it really suits your personality,” Tolys answered. 

Feliks stopped to face Tolys and clapped his hands together. “Really?!” 

Tolys smiled. “Yeah.” His cheeks turned red. “You look like a princess.” 

“Aww!! Thank you!!” Feliks cheered, jumping up and down. “Do you think I should wear it tonight?” 

“Well,” Tolys hesitated, “What songs are you planning on doing? You like to dance a lot, so…”

“Hmm, maybe I should save it for tomorrow,” Feliks thought aloud. “I was thinking of doing an outrageous dance performance tonight.” 

“So tomorrow should be more subdued?” 

“Yeeeaaaah,” Feliks smiled. He swayed side to side, letting the dress swirl out. “So you really like my dress?” 

“Yes, I thought I already sai--”

“You did, I was just making sure.” He gently poked Tolys’ nose, once again. “Boop.” 

Tolys laughed and was suddenly very aware of how close they were standing. “Why do you keep doing that?” 

Feliks shrugged as he began to walk away. “Oh, you know.” 

Still somewhat perplexed by Feliks’ advances, Tolys gently grabbed Feliks’ arm and pulled him back. “U-uh, so what songs do you have in mind for tonight?” he stammered. “They need to put a playlist together...or something. For the DJ.” 

“Oh yeah, sure. Where’s the DJ?” Feliks asked. 

“Right here!!” 

Gilbert stood next to him, hands in his pockets, and a smirk across his face. He glanced at Feliks’ dress. “That dress is  _ interesting _ ,” he muttered, “trying” to be nice. 

Feliks smirked. “Thanks! I know good fashion when I see it!”

Gilbert held in a laugh and forced himself to become more serious. “What songs are you performing tonight?” 

“How many do I get?” 

Gilbert huffed. “Three, usually.” 

As Feliks stood thinking for  _ far  _ too long, Tolys wandered over to the bar to take a seat. He pulled out his phone to see if there were any messages. 

It was a mistake. 

Six text messages from Ivan greeted him when the phone’s screen lit up, along with two voicemail message notifications. It certainly felt  _ somewhat  _ normal; it wasn’t the  _ first  _ time Ivan had left several messages in a row on Tolys’ phone. But six messages? In a row? With a similar message? Littered with passive aggressive emojis?

_ Afternoon, Tolys. :) I hope you had a good flight. :) Have you checked in with Natalya yet? :) I believe she is waiting for an apology. :) For your sudden change of plans. :)  _

_ :) Hello again. :) Have you checked in with Natalya yet?  _

_ Check in with Natalya ASAP. :) :) :) _

_ :) Tolys :) I know she said only call her when you’re coming home. But believe me, she would appreciate it if you checked in with her. Soon. Okay? Good. :) _

_ Tolys, I need you to respond to my messages soon. Check in with Natalya, okay? Good. I have asked nicely. :) :) :) Thanks. :) :) :) :) :) _

_ Answer. Your. Phone. Tolys. And. Check. In. With. Natalya. Or. Else. :)  _

Something wasn’t right. 

Tolys could feel his heart rate increase after reading each message. He still had two voice messages to listen to and he wasn’t sure if he had the courage to listen.  _ I came here for a get away, I don’t need to be anxious right now _ , Tolys thought to himself. His stomach already hurt a little and his hands were shaking as he began to dial Natalya’s number. 

“Is everything okay?” 

Tolys looked up to find Feliks standing in front of him, eyes filled with concern. “You seem tense all of a sudden. I thought we were having fun.”

“We were, we were,” Tolys sighed. “I just checked my phone only to find several messages from Ivan and--” 

Feliks took a deep breath and held it in for a second. “Do you trust me?” 

“Wha--?”

“Do you trust me?” Feliks gently reached for Tolys’ phone and took it away from him. “Can you trust me enough to not lose this?” 

Tolys hesitated. “I mean, I suppose I do.” 

Feliks put the phone on airplane mode and stuck it into the bust of the dress. “Is it okay if I keep it for the weekend? So you can have some peace of mind while we’re here in London?” 

Tolys bit his lip; something in the pit of his stomach told him he should follow through and do what Ivan had asked of him (“or else”). But at the same time, he knew Feliks was right. Feliks was  _ always _ right when it came to Ivan and Natalya, and Tolys was starting to listen to him more and more. 

Clearing his throat, Tolys nodded. “Sure. I can trust you.”

Feliks smiled. “Okay, when we get back to the hotel, I will put it somewhere safe.” 

“Isn’t there a safe in the hotel room?” Tolys questioned. 

“Probably! I’ll put it there.” 

Feliks was about to reach up and poke Tolys’ nose again, like before, but Tolys beat him and gently poked Feliks’ nose instead. It took Feliks by surprise and a bright smile was plastered all over his face. With a few steps backwards, Feliks soon turned around and giggled as he hurried back to the dressing room to return the dress. 

Tolys leaned against the bar counter and sighed happily. With his phone gone for the weekend, he finally felt at ease. 

“How long have you two been together?” Antonio, who stood behind the counter and was hanging a martini glass on the rack, asked. 

“Huh?” Tolys replied, confused. 

“You and Feliks, how long have you been together?” Antonio repeated. 

“Oh, we’ve been friends for a few months now, I think? I’m helping with his finances and then I started managing his business I guess and--” Tolys rambled. 

“No, stupid, how long have you two been dating?” Lovino, who hadn’t moved from earlier, clarified. 

Tolys was even more confused. He started to tap his fingers on the counter nervously. “W-what? We’re not dating. We’re just friends!” 

Antonio and Lovino exchanged glances and stared at Tolys skeptically. “Just...friends?” Antonio stated, tilting his head. 

“Yes!” Tolys confirmed. 

“If you’re ‘just friends,’ then what the fuck did I just witness?!” Lovino hollered, gesturing to Tolys. 

“I-it’s just a joke between us!” Tolys paused. “I think.” 

The three of them stared at each other in awkward silence. Antonio soon turned away, trying to occupy himself with something else as a distraction. Lovino, on the other hand, stared at Tolys for a few more seconds before directing his attention back to his phone, muttering under his breath:

“Mmhm, whatever you say.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI I'M A MESS BECAUSE I LITERALLY FORGOT TO UPLOAD WHILE AWAY ON VACATION! The place my family is renting DOES have WiFi, pretty good WiFi actually, and I just completely lost track of what days we were on. 
> 
> Anyways, here is a very, or fairly, light-hearted chapter! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Feel free to leave a comment or critique! The next chapter should be around January 11th (I will keep track of the days this time). 
> 
> Katelyn (violinia)


	11. Dancing with Questions

While Tolys and Feliks were getting settled in London, Eduard was back in Warsaw, preparing for an interrogation. Well, not an  _ official  _ interrogation per se, but he was about to make a very stupid mistake. 

He was going to try to gather more information about Ivan Braginsky by  _ talking  _ to him. And by hopefully snooping around his office as well. 

It was close to the time for  ** _Evergreen Gardens _ ** to close for the night, and Eduard sat in his car, observing the business in the small shop. From the looks of it, Ivan was constantly on the phone as he was trying to checkout customers. He seemed frazzled, which was very unusual for him. Something was off, and it made Eduard even more hesitant to step into the shop. 

Soon, there was only one customer left in the shop standing at checkout; by the look of it, it was an elderly woman purchasing some seeds. Eduard took a deep breath and carefully picked up his aloe plant he had bought a while ago from the passenger seat. There was nothing wrong with the plant, in fact, Eduard was taking great care of it. But the plant was his ticket to knocking Ivan’s defenses down. 

For a minute, at least. 

The car beeped as Eduard crossed the street and stepped into the shop. Upon entering the shop, he found Ivan impatiently waiting for the elderly woman to finish counting the exact change to pay for the seeds. She handed him the money and Ivan, still trying to suppress whatever it was he was feeling, attempted to gently take the money. However, it was too swift, and obviously startled the woman, resulting in her quickly leaving the shop without a polite goodbye. 

The door slammed shut and Ivan did not bother to look up from counting the money from the register. Eduard stood still and quietly as he continued to observe for a little while longer. He was nervous, and fearful of the outcome from this interaction, but he felt that it needed to be done. 

The Puppeteer of Warsaw needed to be dealt with once and for all. 

Eduard cleared his throat to get Ivan’s attention. Ivan immediately looked up from the money and only gave Eduard a cold, stern glare. No fake smile, no fake warm welcome. Eduard gulped and forced himself to act casual. 

“G-good evening, I--” he began. 

“We’re closing soon. What do you want?” Ivan interrupted. 

“Um, well, I bought this aloe plant a while back and I was wondering if you could--”

“It looks perfectly healthy. No need to ask me if it is sick.” 

_ Shit _ , Eduard thought to himself.  _ Does he read minds? Does he know why I’m here?  _ “U-uh, well, um, I recall something about upgrade pots? Do you think I’m due for an upgrade?” 

Ivan took a deep breath and exhaled sharply, tossing the money on the counter forcefully. “Show me,” he demanded. 

Tentatively, Eduard approached the register counter and place the aloe plant in front of Ivan. With a skeptical glance, Ivan picked up the plant and looked at it for a total of three seconds. 

“Did you not buy an upgrade pot when you bought the plant?” he asked, setting the plant down. 

“I don’t think I did,” Eduard lied. 

“I believe I recall you doing so,” Ivan added, crossing his arms across his chest. “I can pull up your receipt. Eduard, is it?” 

“Uh, yes...um, do you need my last na--?”

“Von Bock, yes?” 

_ Jesus Christ, he has an incredible memory.  _ Eduard and Ivan of course knew each other because of Tolys, but their encounters were far and between. Eduard did everything he could to avoid Ivan and Natalya, and they did the same. 

Eduard simply nodded, but it was already too late. Ivan had already wandered to his office to pull up his records. Starting to feel anxious, Eduard looked around the store, realizing that this was a very  _ bad  _ idea. He hadn’t been expecting Ivan to see right through his plan practically immediately. What was there left to do? Be blunt about it? Ask him if he was the Puppeteer straight to his face? 

Eduard’s trance was broken by the sound of Ivan slamming an old business receipt on the counter. When Eduard turned around, he was taken aback by Ivan’s glare, resulting in every ounce of him telling him to run. 

“Your receipt here tells me that you did indeed purchase an upgrade pot with your plant,” Ivan stated.

“Oh, well, I-I must have misplaced it…” Eduard lied again. “Do you have any tips when it comes to transferring the plant to anoth--”

“ _ Why  _ are you here?” 

Eduard began to walk backwards towards the door. “I-I’m sorry f-for wasting your time. Maybe I’ll come back another time.” 

Before Eduard could turn around and leave, Ivan grabbed his shirt collar and pulled him close to his face. “ _ Why  _ are you here?” he repeated. “I have had a long day. So please, do not waste my time any longer.  _ Why  _ are you here, Eduard von Bock? What could you  _ possibly  _ want from me?” 

“I-I have reason t-to believe y-you are the...the P...Puppeteer?” Eduard declared in a trembling voice. 

Ivan’s serious scowl quickly faded away as he stared at Eduard dumbfounded. He kindly released his grip on Eduard’s shirt and took a step back.  _ Is he actually going to confess? _ Eduard thought, trying to ignore the fact that his heart was about to burst out of his chest. 

Ivan shook his head in disbelief. “I’m sorry, I must be so tired that I heard you incorrectly. What was that?” 

“N-nothing. N--never mi--”

“No, no, please,  _ tell me _ . What did you say?” Ivan came around the register counter, stepping closer and closer to Eduard. He towered over him, and even though Eduard kept stepping away from him, Ivan continued to approach him until he was cornered into a wall. 

“I said, I have reason to believe that you are the P--” Eduard began. 

“Ah, so I did hear you correctly,” Ivan sighed, turning away. He chuckled a little. “I thought I needed my ears to be cleaned.” Ivan’s signature smile returned, and Eduard felt more uncomfortable than before. “Thank you for the laugh, Eduard. You may go now.” 

_ That’s it? He’s not offended?  _ Eduard hesitated, but made his way to the exit. As he opened the door, Ivan quickly slammed it shut and stood right behind him. Eduard jumped at the sudden act and began to shake. 

“On second thought, I think I have a few questions,” Ivan whispered. He locked the door and flipped the store sign to “closed.” Placing his hands on Eduard’s shoulders, he turned him around and led him to the office. Forcing Eduard into a chair, Ivan took a seat across from him. “Tell me, Eduard,” Ivan stated, his smirk widening catlike across his face. “Why  _ exactly  _ do you think I’m a coldhearted murderer?” 

** _Atomica _ ** was crowded as ever, with music pumping and pounding throughout the building. Backstage was hectic, as usual, with everyone running around in preparation of the show. Feliks sat in the dressing room, still searching through Mirage’s clothing rack trying to decide what to wear. 

“You have fifteen minutes, Roksana,” Francis stated. He was sitting in a chair in front of the large mirror and was discreetly admiring himself. Though he wasn’t obviously making faces in the mirror, he’d occasionally glance at his reflection and smile, pushing his hair back behind his ear. “Ludwig runs a tight schedule around here. I wouldn’t suggest being late.” 

“I have my makeup on and whatever, no worry,” Feliks replied. “I will be on time.” 

“Are you sure? You don’t have any padding on or a wig or…” Francis listed. 

“I don’t need that stuff!” Feliks said, waving his hand. “All I need is a good outfit.” 

Francis narrowed his eyes. “Are you  _ sure _ ?” 

Feliks spun around to face him and put his hands on his hips. “Yes, I am sure! Like, one thousand percent sure!” 

Stifling a snort, Francis shrugged and smirked. “M’kay.” 

“I feel like you are doing the judgey thing. Are you judging me, Mirage Voilà?” Feliks huffed. 

Quickly shaking his head and looking away, Francis sighed. “No, no, no! I just personally like padding on a queen. It helps with the illusion.” 

Feliks yanked a cocktail dress off of the rack and began to put it on. “Illusion shmuh-lusion. With all the dancing and flips I will be doing, padding and wigs will just get in the way!” He then moved over to put his high heels on and turned to Francis. “See, I still look good!” 

Francis nodded. “Yes, not bad...for a ten minute look.” 

Feliks laughed, recognizing that it was only a joke, and suddenly pulled a serious face. “ _ Bitch _ .” 

The two of them laughed and worked together to complete Roksana’s look for the evening. With five minutes left, they heard a soft tap at the door. Feliks opened the door to find Tolys standing very calmly. 

Tolys smiled. “Hey, uh, you look nice,” he said hesitantly.

Feliks gave a cheesy grin and leaned against the door. “Yeah? You think so?” 

“I just came back to wish you good luck,” Tolys added. 

“Aw, thanks!” Feliks reached up and squished Tolys’ cheeks. “You’re the sweetest! Now, be sure to cheer for me because you’re my biggest fan, okay?” 

“I-I am?” 

“Yes, of course! No one else knows me here! And you came to wish me the best of luck, which proves to me you are my biggest fan!” 

Tolys’ cheeks turned a light shade of pink as he looked away. “O-okay, I will do my best to cheer for you.” 

Bouncing with excitement, Feliks cradled Tolys jaw and smirked. “Yay! And I may ask you to come on stage at some point,” 

“Wha--?” 

“Just for some fun!” 

Without thinking, Feliks kissed Tolys’ cheek before stepping back and closing the door. He hurried to the mirror to admire his reflection and sway happily in place. Francis, who was watching Feliks carefully, smiled. 

“How long have you two been together?” Francis asked. 

Feliks quickly turned around, confused. “What?!” he replied. 

“You and Tolys. How long have you been together?” Francis reiterated. 

“What makes you think we’re together? I  _ mean _ , we are just friends!” Feliks said defensively. “Friends can touch each other if they want, or kiss faces or…” He paused. “You are not buying the lie, are you?” 

Francis snorted. “Nope. From where I stand, you two look like a couple who’s still in the moonstruck phase.” He stood up and put a hand on Feliks’ shoulder. “But let me guess, you have a  _ huge  _ crush on Tolys, and he’s oblivious to your feelings because of…?” 

“Judgy people?” Feliks chimed in, tilting his head to the side. “Oh, aaaand he kind of has girlfriend.” 

Francis’ eyes widened in surprise. “Girlfriend?” he repeated, stunned. “Huh, I didn’t catch that in my observations…” 

“Yeah, she doesn’t come along because she is biggest party pooper you will ever meet!” Feliks huffed. 

“I take it you don’t like...what’s her name?” 

“Natalya and you are correct; she’s the  _ wors _ t. Like,  _ the  _ worst. Absolute worst. Think you know the worst person in the world? Wrong, because it’s Natalya.” 

There was another knock at the door and Ludwig poked his head around the door. “Roksana, you’re on in two minutes. I hope you are prepared.” 

“Prepared is my middle name, Ludwig!” Feliks said. He quickly turned around and put his hands on his hips. “Ask the audience if they are prepared for me!” 

Ludwig said nothing as he closed the door. Francis stepped around Feliks and stood by the door, sighing. 

“I suppose that is my cue to go out in the audience and watch the performance,” he said. “Best of luck to you, Roksana.” 

“Thanks!!” 

With the door shut and a quick glance in the mirror, Roksana clapped her hands together and grinned. “Showtime!” 

“Eduard,” Ivan sang. “Do not make me repeat myself. I do not like buffoonery.” 

Eduard took a deep breath to calm himself and nodded. “Right, I’ve done some research on your background, and there are some things that come across as suspicious. To me, I guess.” 

“And what are those suspicions?” Ivan asked slowly.

“Your parents were murdered when you were very young, and witnessing that at a young age can really change a per--” Eduard began. 

“I wasn’t the one who witnessed their deaths.” Ivan said with a tight, forced smile. 

Eduard froze.  _ He didn’t see their death? But the reports claimed that… _ “If you didn’t see them, then who di--” 

“No, no, don’t change the subject. I want to hear every accusation you have. Continue.” Ivan smiled coldly. 

“O-okay, well, this whole taking over the old bar Feliks owns. That’s suspicious.” 

“How?” Ivan tilted his head, amused. 

“Well, if you look at all of the suspects, they’re young men. And you taking over a bar, or a nightclub, would make it easier for you to find a victim.” 

“Why would I kill anyone, Eduard? What purpose would that serve?” 

Eduard hesitated and bit his lip. “Well, perhaps you don’t want to be honest with yourself. Maybe you’re…”

“Gay? You think I’m  _ gay _ ?” 

“Look at all of the victims! And I’ve never seen you date a woman, and maybe you’re asha--” 

“And you’ve never seen me date a man, either.” Ivan leaned forward and scowled. “Something tells me all of your accusations are just  _ assumptions _ .” 

Eduard shifted in his seat. “I apologize, I had more things...rehearsed...but my mind has gone blank.” He stood up. “I-I’m sorry, Ivan. I didn’t mean to--”

Ivan stood up as well and forcefully pushed him back down into his seat. “We’re not  _ finished _ here.” Ivan sat back down and sighed. “Please,  _ continue _ .” 

“I-I don’t know what else to say--” Eduard stammered. 

“Then we’ll  _ sit here _ until you do.” 

And so they sat in silence for a couple of minutes as Eduard, who was shaking tremendously, calmed himself down once again. “Okay, perhaps I went about this the wrong way--”

“You think?” Ivan muttered. 

“--and for that I’m sorry. But, I still think you’re connected somehow. You’re very demanding and you use people for your own personal gain.” 

“How so?” 

Eduard gulped. “Well, I think the best example is Tolys. You make ridiculous demands of him, practically hog him for your own business, and bully him until he gives in to your demands. You’re practically possessive of him. He’s like a puppet of yours, that’s how you view him.” 

Ivan tapped his finger against the desk and remained quiet, waiting for Eduard to continue with his theories. 

“A-and what about Feliks? He’s just a pawn in your game to get the bar that you so desperately want. For no reason, might I add.” 

“Does one  _ always  _ need a reason to have things?” The clicking of his fingernails against the table sent shivers down Eduard’s spine.

“Still. You can’t deny that you are manipulative and demanding.” 

Ivan shook his head, leaned back in his chair and folded his hands in his lap. “I still don’t understand, Eduard. What,  _ exactly _ , makes you think I’m a murderer? Have I ever been violent towards you? Or to my customers? Do you have any  _ actual  _ evidence? Or only your  _ assumptions _ ?” 

Eduard clenched his fists and looked down to the floor. “I--I…” 

“How about this: you seem to be good at research, Eduard. Tell me, what do you know about my childhood? You know my parents were brutally killed, anything else?” Ivan watched Eduard closely before he answered. After collecting himself again, Eduard began listing off facts he knew about Ivan’s childhood: the death of his parents, the separation of him and his sister, growing up in foreign country, learning a new language, being bullied constantly in school, everything he could think of. 

Once Eduard finished explaining why many of the experiences Ivan had were similar to other serial killers, Ivan was beginning to understand. 

“Perhaps I don’t  _ always  _ treat Tolys, or anyone according to yourself, in the kindest manner. But you see, I have to distance myself from close relationships to a certain degree. Get too friendly with people and they’ll get the wrong idea.” Ivan explained. 

“What wrong idea?” Eduard asked, baffled. 

“You know how bad the bullying got in my school, yes? I was always too kind and gentle with people then, and they took advantage of me. So now, I am kind when I need to be, but I have to be stern as well. I am in control of any relationship I have.” 

“But you’re doing the  _ exact  _ same thing, aren’t you? You hated being treated that way, why would you do the same thing to others?” Eduard asked. 

“I said,  _ I  _ am in  _ control _ .” Ivan smiled. “I’ll give you one thing, Eduard, and that is you’re very good at research. I’m impressed at how much you know of my background.” 

“Th-thanks? I think?” 

“So how about this: I think I would like to help you,” Ivan continued. 

“Help me? What, find the Puppeteer?” Eduard was incredulous. 

“Yes, but you see, I need you to help me, help you.” Ivan pushed the chair back just a bit to open a desk drawer, pulling out a large photo album of sorts. “One more time, just for me, can you tell me about my family again?” 

Eduard rolled his eyes behind his back; Ivan  _ loved  _ to toy with people, didn’t he? “Your parents were killed when you were six and you were separated from your sister.” 

“Sister?” Ivan opened the photo album. 

“Don’t tell me you and Natalya  _ aren’t  _ related? I don’t need any more confusion, Ivan--” 

“Natalya and I are related, rest assured. But aren’t you forgetting something? Or, some _ one _ , rather?” Ivan carefully pulled out a picture from the album and placed it in front of Eduard. Hesitantly, Eduard picked up the photo and studied it. It was a picture of Ivan and his family: his mother and father standing side by side, arms around each other. In front of them were Ivan, who was wearing a small suit, Natalya, wearing a dress and a bow that she  _ clearly  _ hated, and another child beside them, with her hair tied back and a nice dress to match. Eduard did not recognize her, and looked to Ivan for an explanation. 

“You see, I have  _ two  _ sisters. Natalya is the younger one,” Ivan pointed to the older girl in the picture. “Do you know who this is?” 

Eduard shook his head. 

“This is my older sister, Iryna. Did you not come across her name in your research?” 

Eduard thought for a moment. “I might have, but--”

“You only saw what you  _ wanted _ , yes?” 

“I’m sorry,  _ how  _ will this help me?” Eduard questioned. 

“It will help me, help you. I have been searching for my older sister for years, and I can’t seem to find her. Every time I look, it seems like I get farther and farther away from finding her.” Ivan’s eyes were glued to the photograph, and he seemed to pull them away to look at Eduard with some reluctance. “You see, I miss her very much. She kept our family together; before and after the  _ Incident _ . Then we were all separated, adopted into different families. And no matter what I do, I can’t find her.” 

Eduard began hesitantly, “Is she de--?” 

“Not possible. She can’t be,” Ivan said sternly. “But you, Eduard, can access things that I cannot. Meaning, you can probably get closer to finding her than I can.” 

Eduard set the picture on the desk and closed his eyes to think for a moment.  _ He’s not asking me what I  _ think  _ he’s asking me.  _ “You want me to find your sister for you?” he asked. “I’m just a journalist, Ivan,” 

“A very  _ nosy _ journalist,” Ivan commented with a half-smile. 

“How do you expect me to find a woman who probably doesn’t  _ want  _ to be found?” 

Ivan chuckled. “Maybe you shouldn’t have stuck your nose where it didn’t belong, otherwise, you wouldn’t be given this task.” He took the photo back and slid it back into the album. “Once you find Iryna, I’ll help you find the Puppeteer. How’s that?” 

“Do you even  _ have  _ anything useful that would help me?” Eduard asked with a smidge of optimism. 

“Anything more than your very stupid assumptions?” Ivan smirked and giggled. “Probably not.” As Ivan closed the photo album, both he and Eduard heard a floor creak behind the door that led to the greenhouse. Ivan let out a heavy sigh as he stood up. “One second,” he muttered as he moved to open the door. 

Tolys sat quietly and patiently at the bar, drinking his glass of water. He wasn’t one to drink often, and often settled for a glass of water over beer or wine or cocktails. The music was quite loud, nearly distorted, and Tolys easily got lost in his thoughts.  _ Should I call Natalya again? I mean, I  _ did  _ call her, but she didn’t answer. Or should I call Ivan? Just to smooth everything over after our altercation.  _

“Please tell me you’re not drinking  _ water  _ the whole time,” 

Tolys looked up to see Francis taking a seat beside him. Francis smiled. “Sorry, you’re Tolys, right?” he asked, offering his hand. “I’ve walked past you a couple of times, and Feliks speaks of you,  _ a lot _ , but I don’t think we’ve spoken to each other yet. I’m Francis.” 

Tolys kindly shook his hand. “Nice to meet you. Feliks has mentioned you a couple of times when we went back to the hotel.” 

Francis nodded. “So, you and Feliks, how long have you two been friends?” 

“Oh, for a few months. He lives at our place for now, and he and I travel to other sites to perform and such.” 

“Our place?” Francis inquired. 

Tolys thought back to his comment. “Oh! Yes, uh, my girlfriend and I rent a place together. Though, I pay for most of it.” He paused. “Did...Feliks tell you about her?” 

“Mm-hm.” Francis crossed his legs. “He didn’t speak too fondly of her.” 

“Not surprising,” Tolys sighed. “She’s very difficult.” 

“From the sound of it, you don’t speak of her too fondly either.” Antonio slid a drink towards Francis and Francis quickly thanked him before continuing. “How come she doesn’t tag along?” 

“This isn’t really her thing,” Tolys replied. 

“What is her thing?” 

Tolys hesitated. What  _ did  _ Natalya like?  _ Besides  _ sex?  _ Besides  _ criticizing him all the time?  _ Besides  _ calling Feliks horrendous names for no reason? Two years together and he still hardly knew anything about her. “I don’t...know?” 

Francis grimaced and took a sip of his drink. “That’s not...great. How long have you been dating her? Her name’s Natalya, right?” 

“Yes,” Tolys answered. “We’ve been together for two years…”

Francis stared at him in mild disbelief. “Two years, huh?” he said, bluntly. 

Before Tolys could continue, the lights in the club changed and there was a sound to get everyone’s attention. The club was silent for a brief moment until Gilbert spoke into the microphone. “Alright, who’s ready for a drag show?!” he hollered. The whole club cheered, throwing their hands up into the air and nearly spilling their drinks while they were at it. “Okay, she’s flown all the way from Poland and I hear she’s nuts, so give it up for ROKSANA! PIEROOOOGIIIIII!!!” 

The club went suddenly dark except for a single spotlight on the stage where Roksana stood with her back turned to the audience. She was standing still in a pose, a thoughtful pose, as a sustained chord rang through the club. Looking over her shoulder, she began lip syncing to the spoken word in the song. As she continued, she slowly turned around to face the audience with a snide smirk on her face. The beat soon started to kick in and she began bopping around on her toes. 

While Tolys watched the energetic performance in front of him, he soon recognized the song. He had been first introduced to it awhile ago from a friend in America who was interested in 80s music. Tolys couldn’t help but join the audience in swaying along with the beat as they watched Roksana’s wild performance. 

With cartwheels and backflips, Roksana used every inch of the stage as the instrumental break of the song. At some point, Francis had dropped his drink from shock, which shattered across the floor, in awe of Roksana’s dancing techniques. Tolys couldn’t tell if Francis was impressed, intimidated, or both by Roksana’s abilities. 

Roksana concluded the song by falling onto the floor and with the crowd cheering. The next song came on and Roksana lifted her arm up and moved her hand as if it were a talk puppet. The audience laughed a bit at the silly act, as did Tolys. Soon enough, Roksana jumped back to her feet, disappeared for a split second behind the curtain, and came back dragging a chair behind her. 

_ What in the world…? _ Tolys thought to himself. He watched her closely as she let go of the chair, turned around and locked eyes with Tolys. She waved him over with her index finger, inviting him over with a sultry smirk.  _ She’s not looking at me, right? _ Tolys asked himself, shifting his chair hesitantly. 

“Are you going to go up there?” Francis asked, turning to him. Antonio slid him another drink to replace the one he dropped. 

“What?” Tolys replied. “She’s pointing to someone else, right?” 

“No, she’s pointing to you!” Francis corrected. He quickly stood up and pushed Tolys out of his seat and towards the stage. Nervously, Tolys stepped on the stage and looked out at the audience, who was cheering for him. 

“ _ What  _ are you doing?” Tolys asked, whispering. 

“Performing!” Roksana replied. She pushed Tolys down into the seat and stood behind him. She leaned over his shoulder and smirked. “I told you I would ask you on stage! Thank you for participating!” 

“What am I supposed to do? I can’t dance or…” Tolys began. 

“Just sit there! I’ll do all of the work!” 

As if nothing had happened, Roksana went back to dancing around on the stage throughout the song. Her moves were quite flirtatious and sensual in nature. Tolys sat still in the chair, feeling awkward as ever, while Roksana went through her performance routine.  _ Why am I here? Why am I here? _ Tolys thought, trying not to look at the audience too much. He knew no one was paying him no mind, they were all focused on Roksana’s performance, but it didn’t take away how embarrassed he felt and how red his face was. 

Before the bridge of the song came around, Roksana twirled around to face Tolys, tearing off her dress to reveal a sparkly leotard was underneath. She put her hands on her hips and walked to stand behind Tolys, then gently pulled his hair back behind his ears. Tolys closed his eyes, appreciating the gentle sign of affection. Tolys’ nerves seemed to vanish at that moment. It seemed as if time stopped, and Tolys had to think hard when it was the last time he had felt this way. 

Leaning over Tolys’ shoulder again, Roksana waited for Tolys to face her. When eye contact was made, she smiled. “Tell me if it’s too much, okay?” she whispered, sitting in his lap. 

Tolys chuckled and reached up to brush back Roksana’s hair as well. “If what’s too much?” he muttered, feeling dizzy.

“This.” Roksana knelt down on the floor, and carefully ran her hands up from Tolys’ ankles, slowly up his leg. Hesitant for a brief second, when Tolys didn’t not protest, she continued to move further up to his thighs, his stomach, his chest and soon, she gently cradled his jaw. “You’re...okay with this?” she muttered. 

“Huh?” Tolys looked at her, dazed. “Yeah, it’s fi--” 

Before Tolys could finish, Roksana kissed him. Her lips were soft against his and unknowingly, Tolys put his hands on her hips. The audience cheered them on as their kiss grew more intense. 

The kiss, however, was short lived. 

Roksana pulled away first, but Tolys gently tugged her close again, giving her a quick kiss. 

“Tolys, I have to finish the show,” Roksana murmured. 

“I know, I know,” Tolys replied. “I just...I-I uh...could we--?”

“Finish this later?” Roksana finished for him. She walked around the chair and began pulling it towards the curtain. They were both standing backstage, behind the curtain. “I mean...if you wan--”

“Yes!” Tolys answered, a little too eagerly. He cleared his throat. “I mean...if  _ you  _ want to?” 

Roksana smiled and poked Tolys’ nose. “We’ll talk, yeah?” She winked at him before going back on stage. 

The music was muffled backstage, and Tolys sat in the chair for a moment, befuddled. Thoughts he never had before were swirling all around in his mind; he felt as if he couldn’t think straight. It had been too long since he had ever felt this way: confused and moonstruck. It most especially had been too long since he had ever felt this way towards Natalya. 

_ How long have I been in love with Feliks?  _

Tolys broke out of his trance when he noticed that Feliciano and Lovino were standing beside him, waiting for their cue to join Roksana on stage. Mildly embarrassed, he quickly stood up and moved the chair out of the way without saying a word. As he hurried away, he overheard Lovino muttering: 

“Mm-hm, not dating  _ my ass _ .” 

Eduard didn’t know  _ what  _ was behind the door and he feared for the worst. Perhaps there was nothing to be scared of, as Ivan  _ claimed  _ he wasn’t the killer. But Eduard still couldn’t make himself trust Ivan in any way, shape or form. 

Ivan quickly opened the door and stepped aside. He took a deep breath and sighed. “Raivis, I told you to go home  _ hours  _ ago.” 

Raivis, visibly shaking in fear, tried to step away from the door and make a run for the exit. But Ivan immediately pulled him back and dragged him over to the seat besides Eduard. He pushed Raivis down into the seat with such force, Raivis nearly fell out of his chair right way. Eduard and Raivis glanced at each other, but did not say anything. 

“Why didn’t you go home like I asked, Raivis?” Ivan asked, sitting down. 

“W-well, you told me th-this morning that I couldn’t go home until the g-greenhouse was cleaned. I hadn’t even started when you then told me to go h-home.” 

Ivan thought for a second. “I guess I  _ did  _ say that,” he muttered. “Have you been listening to our conversation?” 

“N-no, sir,” Raivis replied. 

“Don’t lie.” 

“I-I only caught t-the last bit, s-sir.” 

The room went silent as Ivan ran his hands over his face and groaned.  _ I feel very uncomfortable right now, _ Eduard thought to himself. He began to stand up out of his seat, sensing that Ivan’s anger was now directed at Raivis, but he soon received a glare from Ivan. 

“ _ Sit down _ ,” Ivan demanded. 

Eduard very quickly obliged. 

“Raivis, have you met Eduard?” Ivan then asked. 

Raivis hesitated. “I think he bought an aloe plant not that long ago?” 

Ivan smiled. “Correct. Do you know why Eduard is here?” 

“His...aloe plant is sick?” Raivis glanced at Eduard, trying to quickly come up with a lie. 

“You’re lying,” Ivan said through his teeth. “You were listening to  _ everything _ , weren’t you?” 

“Allow me to interrupt here but, why are you so angry with him? He’s just a kid who was following your orders.” Eduard said, trying to stand up for the teenager. 

“Because you’re not the only one who’s been  _ accusing  _ me of things,” Ivan answered rather bluntly. He looked to Raivis. “Or at least  _ thinking  _ of accusing me of things. Someone has been snooping through my things when I haven’t been looking. Haven’t you, Raivis?” 

“I-it was an accident, sir,” Raivis stammered. 

“Deliberately opening desk drawers, leaving them open, browsing through my files, pictures, and my computer, and looking for specific information about me is  _ not  _ an accident.” Ivan leaned forward, invading Raivis’ personal space. “Tell me, do  _ you  _ think I’m a murderer too?” 

Raivis gulped. “N-no…?”

The room went silent as Ivan leaned back into his chair, glaring at Raivis skeptically. “Then it’s decided,” he stated. 

“What’s decided?” Eduard asked. 

“You two will work together to find my sister.” 

“ _ Excuse me _ ?!” 

“She’s probably at home, right? Eating dinner or something? Or sleeping?” Raivis said, playing dumb. Eduard was finally sensing that Raivis  _ was  _ in fact, lying in order to save his skin. 

“You know I’m not talking about Natalya,” Ivan snapped. He looked to Eduard. “With both of your nosy qualities, I’m sure you will find her in no time, yes?” 

“Wait a minute, I’m not doing any investigating with a kid! He’s not reliable!” Eduard said. 

“He knows a lot more than he lets on.  _ Trust me. _ And honestly, I’m quite sick of him. He’s a horrible employee.” His tone was scathing, and Raivis shrunk on spot.

“I highly doubt that is true,” Eduard stated bluntly. “He’s a teenager, he’s going to make some poor choices. You weren’t a perfect saint as a child either.” 

Ivan raised his eyebrows at Eduard and smirked. “Ah, so you think he will be a good person for your team after all? Good to know.” He handed the photo album to Eduard and put his hands in his pockets. “I expect you two to find my sister in three weeks max.” 

“And if we don’t?” Eduard asked. 

Ivan laughed. “Let’s hope we don’t get to that point.” He smiled and pointed to the door. “Now, get the hell out of my shop.” 

Waiting in the dressing room, Tolys could hear the loud cheers and hollers of the audience after Roksana’s performance. What happened moments ago was still fresh in his mind, and the longer he waited for Roksana to come back, the more confused he got. 

Did he  _ suddenly  _ feel this way about Feliks because he’s the only one who cares about Tolys’ well being? 

But Tolys knew that wasn’t true, for there were other people who cared about him. Eduard, for example, who had beef for  _ years  _ telling Tolys to leave Natalya. Tolys never had feelings for Eduard, not one bit. So what made Feliks different? 

Was it because of the way Feliks was dressed? 

Maybe, but Tolys doubted it. 

What was the answer, then? Was there even one? 

Tolys jumped at the sound of the door opening and for a brief moment, the crowd’s cheers were louder until the door was shut again. Carrying the dress that had been torn off, Feliks tossed it over a chair and started to take off a fake eyelash. 

“Wear eyelashes, he said,” he mumbled, referring to Francis from earlier. “It’ll make the illusion better, he said. Well, where did the other one go?!” Feliks spun around in a circle, trying to look for the other eyelash he must have lost while dancing. 

“What are you looking for?” Tolys chimed in, hoping to help out. 

Feliks jumped at the sound of his voice and turned around. “When did you get here?” 

“Um, I was waiting for you?” Tolys answered. 

Feliks smiled his signature, cheesy smile and turned back around to hide his face. “You didn’t have to. You could have waited for me out there,” he added, trying to push away how happy he really was. 

“It’s no problem really,” Tolys mentioned. He walked over to stand beside Feliks and took a deep breath. “So, uh, what happened on the stage…” 

Not replying right away, Feliks swayed back and forth, biting his lip. “Yeah?” 

“Should we...talk about it?” 

“Well,” Feliks hesitated, but couldn’t help but smile. “It was just some fun, right? Just a kiss?” 

Tolys looked at him, slightly disappointed. “I-is that what it was for you?” 

“Uuuhhh….” Feliks went out of his way to avoid eye contact. “No?” 

“Right.” Tolys turned away and looked at both of their reflections. “Me either.” He paused. “You felt something? Like something you never felt before?” 

Feliks snorted. “Oh, I’ve had, like, a crush on you for the longest time. I just never said anything.” He froze and glanced at Tolys. “Did...did that come out of my mouth?” 

Tolys chuckled. “Yes, but I don’t mind.” 

“Wait, seriously?” 

“Seriously,” Tolys said, nodding. “Because, I-I think tonight was the first night...I was honest with myself.” 

Feliks raised his eyebrows, surprised, but tried to hide his excitement. “Honest how?” 

Tolys gulped and looked away. “That...I might have feelings for you,” he said, his heart pounding in his chest. “Or...perhaps we have feelings for each other?” 

“Oh  _ shit _ , this is happening,” Feliks muttered. He quickly made his way to the door and opened it. Before he stepped out of the room, he looked over his shoulder and smiled. “Wanna dance?” 

Shrugging, Tolys followed him out of the dressing room and to the bar where they both tried Antonio’s famous margaritas. The two had one too many drinks, danced the night away until it was time for  ** _Atomica _ ** to close. 

It had been a while since Tolys had drank heavily, and though he hadn’t had a drink in a couple of hours, he still found himself clinging to Feliks for stability. Tolys had never been one to hold his liquor very well, and was pretty much a lightweight. 

“You’re wibbly-wobbly tonight,” Feliks commented. He helped guide Tolys over to the bar so he would have a place to sit. “Should we get a taxi?” 

“Probably,” Tolys answered, leaning over the counter. He was slumping over so much, he nearly fell off of the chair. He looked over his shoulder at Antonio who was cleaning up. “Can I get a glass of water, by chance? If not, it’s okay.” 

Antonio, who was on the opposite end of the bar, turned around. “Huh?”

“No, no, you gotta be more assertive, Tolys!” Feliks teased. “Come on, demand for the glass of water!” 

Tolys nodded. “Okay, okay,” he muttered. “Hey, Antonio! Give me water,  _ dammit _ !” He froze and looked to Feliks. “Too much?” 

“Yeah, just a bit,” Feliks laughed. 

“Sorry, one more time,  _ amigo _ ?” Antonio asked. 

“Oh good, he didn’t hear that part,” Tolys sighed with relief. “Um, some water please?” 

“Sure thing!” 

Soon enough, Tolys drank his glass of water and he and Feliks managed to get a taxi quickly. Curiosity was starting to get the best of Tolys as thoughts of the kiss he and Feliks shared began to infiltrate his mind.  _ It’s wrong to cheat _ , Tolys thought to himself, glancing over at Feliks occasionally.  _ But is it cheating if I don’t love someone anymore?  _

Inching closer to Feliks, Tolys gently placed his hand over his. “Hey, um, so...” 

“The kiss, huh?” Feliks replied. He turned around quickly and smiled, leaning his elbow against the window. “So? We feel some type of way about each other?” 

“How long have you had a crush on me?” Tolys asked. 

Feliks shrugged. “I dunno. Probably when I first met you or something.” He looked out the window, trying to hide his blushing face. “Not many people are kind to me upon the first meeting, so when someone is just being polite, I tend to fall hard.” He took a deep breath. “Your feelings for me? Are they really feelings or is it just  _ curiosity _ ?” 

Tolys thought for a moment. “Maybe it’s a little of both?” He paused. “Is that allowed?” 

Feliks laughed. “Of course,  _ silly _ .” He twirled a strand of hair around his index finger. “What about Natalya?” 

Tolys took a deep breath. “Can you promise me that what I’m about to tell you won’t leave this car?” Feliks answered with a nod. “I can’t  _ stand  _ her anymore.” 

Feliks laughed. “Yes!! That makes two of us.” 

The taxi ride was silent for the rest of the ride to the hotel, and once the two of them were in the room, Tolys took a deep breath before speaking. “Feliks, can I ask you another question?” 

“Sure, but I might not have the answer.”

“Could we kiss again?”

Feliks bit his lip before answering. “Sure.” 

Gently, Tolys cradled Feliks jaw and kissed him softly and pulled away. The two locked eyes and soon, Feliks jumped into Tolys’ arms and kissed him back passionately. Hands began to wander over each other’s bodies, exploring underneath skirts and pants. Soon, all of their clothes were on the floor and Feliks was sitting in Tolys’ lap. 

“So, how should we do this? Do you want me to be really feminine?” he asked, pushing back Tolys’ hair. 

For a moment, Tolys was lost in a trance. Feliks’ touch was always gentle and caring, something Tolys wasn’t used to. It had been so long since someone had been so soft and passionate with Tolys, he forgot how much he actually craved it. 

“Huh?” Tolys replied, finally registering Feliks’ question. 

“Or really masculine? What fantasy are we exploring here?” 

Tolys looked at Feliks in confusion. “I don’t want a fantasy. I just want you to be yourself.” 

Feliks snorted. “No one wants that, they always want something. You can be honest. Want me to moan like a woman? ‘Cause I can do that with no problem.” 

Tolys shook his head. “No, just be Feliks.” 

Again, Feliks snorted and stared at Tolys as if he were crazy. “I’ve been with a lot of curious men, and they’ve  _ never  _ wanted me to be myself.” 

“Good thing I’m not like them, huh?” 

Feliks froze, then kissed Tolys softly. “Why are you so nice to me?  _ No one _ is this nice to me.” 

“It’s always been my nature, I guess,” Tolys answered, pushing back Feliks hair. He then bit his lip. “One...last question: t-top or bottom?” 

Feliks smirked and poked Tolys’ nose. “Versatile.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, hello! I was excited to post this chapter, because...well, it all starts getting excited from here! Or so I think so. 
> 
> Anyways, I'm really happy to be posting today. I've had a hell storm of a week; I had to get my cat spayed, who, is mostly an outdoor cat. And being stuck inside so that she heals properly has been......fun. Fortunately, we had the surgery done with lasers, so her healing time is much quicker than if it had been done with a scalpel. But I've had anxiety over that, also with my car being a heap of garbage, with my career still struggling; a lot of things have been bothering me lately. 
> 
> With that aside though, I'm so excited to hear what you guys think of this chapter! Please feel free to leave a comment or a critique! Next chapter will be posted around January 25th. See you then! 
> 
> -Katelyn (violinia)


	12. Sightseeing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! I just wanted to give a trigger warning here that there some characters discuss things in their past very briefly (implications of eating disorders). I don't want to upset or surprise anyone when it comes up. As usual, more notes will be at the end of the chapter!

Going about having a meeting with Raivis was strange, given the fact that he was only 15 years old and Eduard was well in his twenties. Eduard hated the fact that he was put to a very strange task with a child, but it seemed that he had hit a wall. Ivan wasn’t the Puppeteer, or so he _ claimed _, so perhaps Raivis had more information that could bring more puzzle pieces to the table. 

Eduard had his doubts, though. 

Stepping up the two front steps, Eduard knocked on the front door of Raivis’ house and waited patiently for an answer. Soon, Raivis opened the door, only to not properly greet Eduard by promptly turning back around to sit on the couch. As Eduard stepped in and closed the door behind him, he saw that Raivis was invested in a video game, he groaned. 

_ This kid knows nothing _. He set his belongings down. 

“I thought your parents were supposed to be home?” Eduard asked. He had actually requested that Raivis’ parents to be around at the meeting, because the whole situation made Eduard feel rather uncomfortable. 

“My mom went to the store,” Raivis answered, not looking away from the TV. “She’ll be back.” 

“Do you know when?” Eduard asked. 

Raivis answered with a shrug. 

_ Typical teenager _ . Taking a deep breath, Eduard sat next to Raivis, watching him play his shooting game. “So,” he began. “What do you _ really _know about Ivan?” 

“He’s weird,” Raivis answered. “Like, _ weird _.” 

“I think that’s common knowledge at this point,” Eduard took out a notepad and pen. “What about his family? And this long lost sister thing? Is it even real?” 

Raivis paused the game and bit his lip. “I know where she is,” he muttered. 

Eduard froze. _ Ivan was right; he _ was _ snooping around! _ “You _ know _where she is? Why haven’t you told Ivan?!” 

“Well, I _ think _ I know where she is. But I’m not positive. Plus, I’m pretty sure if she wanted to be with her family again, she would have done so by now.” 

“Back up,” Eduard paused to gather his thoughts. “How did you figure this all out?” 

“It wasn’t easy,” Raivis began. “But I just followed the trails. Ivan is too focused on finding _ Iryna Braginskaya _ , but he really needs to be looking for _ someone else _ .” Raivis set the game controller on the table in front of him and took a deep breath. “I think his sister changed her name, or _ someone _had her name changed at some point. I’m guessing...her adoptive family did so.” 

_ Interesting _. “What’s her name now, then?” Eduard asked. 

“Sofia Chernenko. Or, at least I _ think _it’s her gathering from the pictures I’ve seen. Like I said, I’m not positive.” Raivis slouched in his seat. 

Eduard thought for a moment. He was suddenly impressed at the kid’s research abilities, or rather, his abilities to probably go around rules to get information he needed. _ He’d make a good journalist one day _ . “Where does Iryna, or _ Sofia _, live?” 

“Ukraine,” Raivis replied. 

“Ukraine?!_ Ukraine?!? _” Eduard said, raising his voice a little.

“Kyiv, to be exact,”

“She couldn’t be somewhere _ closer _?” 

Raivis shrugged again. “Apparently not.” 

Eduard put his face in his hands and sighed; how were they supposed to reunite Ivan with his beloved older sister if she lived so far away? “Maybe we could put it into his hands,” Eduard brainstormed. “We tell him where we _ think _she is and he goes to find her himself.” 

“Yeah, I don’t think that will work,” Raivis replied. “Once we tell him, he’ll just tell us to go get her and bring her here. He’d very much rather someone else do the hard work and then take all the credit himself.” 

Eduard felt at a loss. He really didn’t want to have to travel all the way to Ukraine to find a woman he didn’t even know and somehow convince her to come to Warsaw to see her younger brother. He wouldn’t even put it _ past _ Ivan that he already knew where his sister was and was simply distracting them from the truth.

It all seemed impossible. 

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I guess I have to drive to Kyiv and bring her here.” 

“Quick question: do you speak Ukrainian?” Raivis asked. 

“_ Fuck _,” Eduard slouched in his seat in defeat. “No, I don’t. Ivan’s set us up to fail.” 

Raivis grinned. “Maybe not? I can speak it. I’ll be your translator.” 

“_ You _ ? Speak _ Ukrainian _?” 

Shrugging, Raivis pulled his legs up onto the couch cushion to sit pretzel style. “I mean, sorta. My grandmother spoke Ukrainian.” He paused. “Or at least I think it was Ukrainian. I dunno. She yelled at me a lot. Either way, I can speak something? That has to be useful, right?” 

Eduard took a deep breath. “I suppose it’s worth a shot. Just...don’t say anything offensive.” 

“Cool! So should we leave tomorrow?” 

“W-won’t your parents be concerned? Surely we have to get their permission first. Besides, don’t you have school?” 

“My parents honestly don’t care. One time, I drank a whole bottle of vodka because I was bored. My mom wasn’t even mad. She just went to the store and bought a new bottle.” 

Eduard stared at him, too stunned to know what to say. “Just ask your mom, okay? I don’t want you to get in trouble.”

“I said she won’t ca--” 

“Just ask her, okay?” 

Raivis shrugged and picked up the game controller. Not knowing what to do and feeling like the conversation was over, Eduard stood up and began making his way for the door. 

“Don’t you want to play?”

Eduard looked over his shoulder, perplexed. “Play? What, your shooting game?” 

“Yeah,” Raivis stood up and grabbed another game controller. “No one really comes over to hang out with me. It’d be nice to have some competition for once.” 

_ What a strange kid _. Eduard thought to himself as he went to sit back down. He took the game controller and listened carefully as Raivis explained how the game worked. Once the rules were clear, the two of them soon were in competition mode to win. 

Perhaps they would get along after all. 

Wrapped up tight under the blankets of the hotel bed, Feliks was the first one to wake up (for once). His legs were tangled with Tolys’, and his head was resting against Tolys’ bare chest. Feliks soon sat up, doing his best not to wake his newfound lover, and climbed out of the bed. _ I should surprise him _. Feliks thought to himself as he clumsily scrambled around in the dark for clothes. Grabbing whatever he stumbled upon, Feliks hurried into the bathroom to get dressed and to make sure he didn’t look like a mess. 

Which, of course, he did. 

Hair was standing up in all the wrong places, old mascara formed rings around his eyes, and any remaining lipstick was smeared downwards towards his chin. Smoothing his hair down and splashing some water on his face, Feliks shrugged and deemed himself presentable to go grab some breakfast. 

Emerging out of the bathroom, Feliks double checked to see if Tolys was still sleeping and grabbed all of the tips he had received from last night’s performance before leaving the room. 

Wandering outside of the hotel, Feliks did a quick glance down both streets to see if there was any cafe nearby. Soon, he found himself several streets over from the hotel and stepped into a small cafe. Feliks stepped up to the counter and stared up at the menu that hung on the wall. 

“Good morning, how may I help you?” the blond cashier asked. 

“Helloooo,” Feliks sang. He took out all of his money and placed it on the counter. “What can I buy with this?” 

The cashier stared at the pile of cash, then to Feliks. “You can get a good majority of the things on the menu.” 

“Like?” Feliks asked. 

“Anything you want.” 

“Okay, could I get two sandwiches?”

“What kind of sandwiches?” 

Feliks shrugged. “I dunno, sandwiches.” 

The cashier took a deep breath. “Would you like me to surprise you?” he asked with a slightly forced kindness. 

“Sure!” Feliks squinted at the small name tag on the cashier’s shirt. “Thanks, Artie!” 

The man glanced down at his name tag, pointed to it and glared at Feliks. “It’s _ Arthur _.” 

“Oh, sorry. Is same thing though, right?” 

Arthur grimaced, but was still polite. “Would you like anything else?” 

“Do you have coffee??” Feliks asked. 

“Yes.” 

“Two coffees then.” 

Arthur nodded, punched the orders into the register and calculated the amount. “Your total is £14.21.” 

Feliks slid the money he had laying on the counter closer to Arthur and said nothing, expecting that the meal would be all of the money he had. Arthur took a deep breath and counted the proper amount of cash needed to pay for the food. He handed Feliks back the extra money and put the money in the register. Surprised, Feliks stared at the money, wondering why he had gotten so much back. _ Did I really get _ that _ much from tips last night? _ He put the money in his pocket. 

“If you’d like, you can check out some books while you wait for your meal,” Arthur stated, beginning to prepare the sandwiches. “By the way, is this order for here or to go?” 

“To go,” Feliks answered, looking around at the cafe. “Uh, what you mean by books?” 

Arthur pointed in the direction behind Feliks. “There’s a bookstore behind you,” he stated with forced patience. 

“Oh! When did that get there?” 

It took only a few minutes for Feliks’ order to be prepared, and after thanking the cashier, Feliks was on his way back to the hotel. Stepping into the hotel room, he found Tolys still sound asleep. Feliks smirked, setting the food on the table and crawled in next to Tolys. 

“_ Dzień dobry _,” he whispered. 

Finally, Tolys stirred from his sleep and opened his eyes, stretching. He looked to Feliks and smiled. “Good morning,” he replied. “Sleep well?” 

“After you wore me out last night? _ Duh _, of course.” Feliks pushed back Tolys’ hair and kissed his cheek. “I got breakfast!” he then said, proudly. 

“You did?” Tolys asked, sitting up. “When?” 

“Just now!” Feliks sat up as well and pointed over to the table. “See? Coffee and everything!” 

Shocked, Tolys smiled. “T-thank you. You didn’t have to do that.” He paused. “Wait, how did you pay for it?” 

Feliks shrugged, put his hands on his feet and began rocking back and forth slowly. “With the tips I got,” he answered. “And I know, I’m trying to save money, but I wanted to get you breakfast.” 

Tolys smiled. “Thank you.” He started to climb out of the bed. He opened one of the sandwiches from its wrapper and bit into it. Sighing contentedly, he sat back down on the edge of the bed. Feliks unwrapped his sandwich and sat beside Tolys. 

“I had fun last night,” he said. There was no other way around it; no matter how good last night felt for both of them, there was something that needed to be discussed. “Did yo--?” 

“I did,” Tolys replied, tentative. “I, um, I’m glad you, um, enjoyed it too.” 

Simultaneously, they took a bite from their sandwiches and chewed, thinking of what to say next. Neither of them wanted to ask the question. 

“So,” Feliks began. “I suppose we should address…”

“The elephant in the room,” Tolys said. “I’m not sure...what all of this means. For us, I mean.” He paused. “I know you probably don’t want to hear this, but, I’m kind of freaking out.” 

“Yeah,” Feliks sighed, looking away. He sensed it awhile ago. “I figured.” _ It’s not the first time. _

“I-I mean, I’m _ certain _ I _ don’t _ love Natalya. O-or my love for her has faded...however you would phrase it. But…”

“You’re scared to leave her,” Feliks crossed his legs and took a deep breath. “I know. It’s complicated.” He leaned forward to grab a coffee and took a sip. “She’s definitely a piece of work,” he added, tapping his index finger against the lid. 

Tolys nodded. “That she is,” he groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. Crumpling up the empty sandwich wrapper, Tolys stood up and tossed it into the bin. He then opened up the closet, unlocked the hotel safe and pulled out his cell phone. 

“Hey--!” Feliks began to protest. 

“I just have to make a phone call,” Tolys muttered, turning on his phone. “To Eduard. No one else, I promise. I just...need a third opinion.” Once his phone was on, several notifications of text messages and voicemails from Ivan appeared on his phone. Tolys swallowed and told himself to ignore the messages, and quickly dialed Eduard’s phone number as he stepped out of the hotel room. 

“Where in Kyiv are we _ going _, exactly?” Eduard asked. 

Miraculously, the two of them were able to get last minute train tickets to Kyiv. As soon as the tickets were booked, both Eduard and Raivis quickly packed their things, gave a brief explanation to Raivis’ parents (who, as Raivis said, didn’t seem to care in the slightest) and jumped on the earliest train. 

“What, you think I have her address or something? I might know a lot about Ivan’s sister, but I’m no stalker like he is,” Raivis answered. 

“We can’t just go to the heart of the city and wander around, looking for her.” Eduard replied. 

Raivis shrugged. “Isn’t that what people in TV shows do?” 

“Yes, but this isn’t a TV show, Raivis.” Eduard sighed, trying to hide his frustrations. Though he and Raivis seemed to be getting along, Eduard _ still _ didn’t want to go on this trip. Who knew what type of person this “Iryna” was? She could be just as bad, if not _ worse _ than her younger siblings. As he took a glance at his phone, trying to think ahead, it began to ring. 

Oddly enough, it was Tolys. 

Eduard answered right away. “Hello? What’s up?”

“Hey,” Tolys replied on the other line. Eduard could hear that his friend was stressed; Feliks was probably being difficult as ever. “Can I...can I talk to you about something? I need another opinion on something...” 

“Shoot,” Eduard said. 

“Well...oh boy, where do I even begin?” Tolys paused. “I suppose it’s best to just say it bluntly. Feliks and I…” There was another pause and Tolys lowered his voice. “Feliks and I had sex last night.” 

Eduard gasped and was left completely speechless. He knew Tolys and Feliks were becoming close friends, but he most certainly wasn’t expecting _ that _ . “You what?” He couldn’t help but smile. Now _ this _was some gossip! 

“Eduard, I don’t know what to do. Do I call Natalya and break it off? Do I wait until I get home? Should I even _ tell _ Natalya?” Tolys rambled. 

“Wait, back up,” Eduard stood up, quickly made his way to the bathroom and slammed the door shut. “Did you say you and Feliks had sex?” 

“_ Yes _, and I don’t know what to do becau--”

“Who topped?” Eduard knew the question was mildly insensitive, but he was now intrigued by this. Feliks and Tolys? A couple? Surprisingly enough, they didn’t seem to be an odd match the more Eduard thought of it. Feliks, though a handful, was kind and caring towards Tolys.

“Are you _ kidding _me right now?”

“Sorry, I’m just joking. You don’t have t--”

“_ I _topped.” 

Eduard erupted in laughter. “I _ knew _it!” 

He heard Tolys take a sharp breath. “I’m trying not to panic, but I’m panicking,” he mumbled, changing the tone of the topic. 

“I see,” Eduard turned around and leaned against the door. “Well, let’s try to think this through. Is it alright if I ask some questions?” 

“Go for it.” 

“After you and Feliks, uh, _ you know _, how did you feel? Did you enjoy it? Or did you regret it?” 

Tolys answered without hesitation. “I had no regrets. I honestly…” He paused and swore under his breath. “I’m so _ fucked _ for saying this, but I enjoyed it. Every second of it. Feliks is so gentle and nice and...gentle. And it’s been awhile since I’ve enjoyed...with Natalya. You know?” 

“Mm-hm, it makes sense,” Eduard said. Natalya’s personality was pure ice; he couldn’t imagine even _ attempting _ to be intimate with her. “And do you have feelings for Feliks?” 

“I think so,” 

“And are the feelings mutual between the two of you?”

“He literally confessed to having a crush on me for a while now last night. And, well, I think I was the most honest with myself for the first time in a while. So, yes, feelings are mutual.” 

Eduard smiled; he was happy his friend was finally seeing the light. “Here’s what I think,” he started. “You and Feliks enjoy your time in London. Get a feel for what you want from each other. If things are really serious, then you come home and talk to Natalya to break things off.” 

“B-But,” Tolys stammered. “You _ know _how she is. Sh-She won’t let me break up with her.” 

Eduard chuckled. “Natalya is terrifying, true, but it’s not like she’s going to hurt you, Tolys. I mean, who knows? Maybe she’ll be understanding and be relieved.” 

“If not her, Ivan surely will _ kill _ me.” 

“No,” Eduard shook his head. “Even though he still scares the _ shit _out of me, something is telling me that Ivan isn’t as dangerous as we might think. I think he’s all bark with no bite.” 

Tolys scoffed. “You sure? Have you _ met _the man?” 

“Well, okay, maybe don’t _ quote _ me on that, but I think he’s more _ harmless _ than _ harmful _. But he’s still an enigma. I won’t deny that.” Eduard opened the door and slowly made his way back to his seat. “Everything is going to be okay, Tolys. Just go and enjoy your time with Feliks and worry about Natalya later.” 

“Okay, you _ know _ that’s impossible for me. I _ always _worry.” Tolys said, laughing a bit. “I’ll do my best, though.” 

“Good. I promise everything will work out. Enjoy yourself, Tolys.” _ You really need it _. 

“Thanks, I’ll try. I’ll explain everything in more detail when we get back. Talk to you later.” 

“Of course. Talk to you later, Tolys.” 

With that, that was where the conversation concluded and Eduard put his phone in his pocket. They still had plenty of time to waste until they arrived in Kyiv; it was enough time for him to come up with a plan.

Tolys entered the room to find Feliks still sitting on the edge of the bed, daydreaming. Hearing the door click shut, Feliks turned and gave Tolys and warm smile. “Feeling a little better?” 

Tolys nodded as he sat down beside Feliks. “Much better. Sorry I had to step out for a bit.” He handed his cellphone back to Feliks. “I’ll let you put this back in the safe, since you’re in charge of it for the weekend.” 

“Alright.” Accidentally, Feliks pressed one of the buttons and the phone screen lit up, revealing all of the notifications. “Good Lord, are all of these from Ivan? What is _ wrong _with that guy?” 

“Who the fuck knows,” Tolys sighed. “All I know for sure is that I’m quite done with his bullshit.” 

Both Feliks and Tolys laughed at the comment. Tolys placed his hand on Feliks knee and smiled. “What would you like to do today?”

Feliks looked over his shoulder. “I mean...there’s a bed right here…”

Tolys chuckled. “I know, but like, there’s lots of sightseeing to do. I’ve never been to London, so maybe we could…”

“Oh, you didn’t tell me you’ve never been here before!!” Feliks interrupted. He quickly stood up. “Then yes, of course, we have to go sightseeing!!! And ride the cyclops eye thing.” 

“Cyclops eye?” Tolys asked. 

“Yeah, Cyclops eye. You know, that gigantic wheel thing?” 

Tolys smirked. “Isn’t it called the London Eye?” 

“Cyclops eye sounds better. Just imagine how much more tourism they’d get!” 

And so it was decided: they would go sightseeing (and maybe some shopping, if Feliks had anything to do with it). Both of them prepared for the day with Tolys washing up and Feliks changing his outfit every five seconds (decisions are hard!). Eventually, the two left the hotel and began wandering around the city of London. 

Fortunately, it was a beautiful day. The weather was pleasant and there wasn’t a single cloud in the sky. It was a rare day in London indeed. 

As they walked amongst the crowds, every now and again Feliks would gently brush Tolys’ hand with his fingers. He was tempted to hold hands with him, but he also didn’t want to be too forward. After all, Tolys was still only _ curious _, right? 

However, at the end of their sight-seeing journey they stood in line to go on the London Eye. Feliks gently brushed his fingers against Tolys’ hand again, and this time, Tolys finally got the hint and took Feliks’ hand. 

“You could’ve said something,” Tolys said, laughing. 

“Eh,” Feliks shrugged. “I wanted the moment to be genuine.” He paused again and inched closer to Tolys. “I don’t think I’ve ever gotten the chance to thank you.” 

“For what?” Tolys asked, confused. 

“For helping me,” Feliks clarified. “I know I’m crazy and weird and a lot to handle. You could’ve walked away a long time ago. Kicked me out of the house, told me to never come back ever again. But you didn’t. So...thanks.” 

Tolys smiled; this was probably the most serious he’d ever seen Feliks. “I didn’t think much of it,” Tolys replied. The line moved forward and they both took a step ahead. “It’s not a problem at all. I’m really happy I met you, actually. You’ve reminded me that life should be...fun.” 

Feliks giggled and grinned. 

After a few minutes, the two of them were finally able to step onto the ferris wheel and silently enjoyed the scenery. They were sitting across from each other at first, but after a few minutes, Feliks moved over to sit next to Tolys. Of course, this caused the car to shake. 

“Careful,” Tolys mentioned. 

“You think we’re going to fall?” Feliks asked. “These things are sturdy as can be!” 

“Yeah, but we don’t _ know _that for sure!” 

Feliks began to wiggle around a bit, making the car shake again. “We’re fine!” 

“B-but we’re high up from the ground!”

“Okay, okay, I’ll stop.” 

The ride was soon over and once Tolys’ nerves were restored, Feliks grabbed his hand and dragged Tolys around the city. A couple of times, Tolys asked where they were headed, but Feliks insisted that it was a surprise. They soon arrived at a restaurant and before Tolys could read the name, Feliks pulled him inside where they were greeted by a familiar face. 

“Welcome to ** _Bellisima_ **, how many are in your party?” Lovino grumbled, leaning against the host’s counter. He sounded tired, or annoyed, or frustrated, or all of the above. 

“I believe we have reservation,” Feliks said. “_ Or _, our other person is already here. One of the two.” 

Lovino sighed. “Oh, so _ you’re _the ones who’re meeting Francis here? I thought he got stood up again by some other Tinder date.” He walked around the counter. “Follow me.” Leading the way, Lovino soon stopped at a table in a corner and gestured for the two of them to sit down. “Your server, who is also me, will be with you in a moment,” he mumbled, walking away. 

As Feliks and Tolys sat down, Francis sat up and set his phone aside, smiling. “I thought you two had forgotten about me!” he said, cheerfully. “I figured a quieter setting would be nicer to get to know each other. So, how are the two of you enjoying London?” 

“Very much; we did some sightseeing today,” Tolys answered. 

“Tolys didn’t like that I was shaking that cart on the giant wheely thingy,” Feliks added. 

Francis raised his eyebrows. “Ah, so you went to the London Eye? I don’t think anyone would appreciate the carriage shaking at the top.” He then leaned back in his chair and traced the lip of the wine glass with his index finger. “I have to say, you’re a _ crazy _one on stage, Feliks.” 

Feliks grinned. “Thanks, I know!” 

“When Feliciano told me you were, or are, a dancer, I thought it was only casual, like him. I didn’t expect _ that _ last night.” Francis continued. “It makes me want to work harder to be a better entertainer.” 

“I’m sure you’re lovely, but just know I am the best!” Feliks said. 

Francis nodded and smirked. “So, I’m...for the lack of a better term, _ intrigued _ by the two of you. You’re... _ not _together, right?” 

Tolys looked over at Feliks nervously. What were they now? It wasn’t _ official _ , but it wasn’t like they _ weren’t _ together? How would _ anyone _be able to describe it? 

“Eh, it’s complicated,” Feliks answered, putting his elbows on the table. He glanced at Tolys. “It’s still being defined, I guess.” 

Francis sighed; he was even more confused. “I just don’t understand; you two have this..._ chemistry _ together. And yet, you’re _ not _together. It doesn’t ma--”

“We had sex last night,” Tolys blurted. He could feel that his face was getting hotter and hotter by the second. 

Francis froze and tilted his head. “Oh?” he replied. 

“Well, now that dog is out of box, I suppose we can talk about it. Tolys is so goo--” Feliks started. 

“So, the two of you having sex makes things even _ more _complicated now, right?” Francis asked. He picked up his wine glass and began to take a sip, but paused. “Wait a minute, did you say ‘dog out of the box’?!” 

“No?” 

“I thought it was ‘cat out of the bag’?” Tolys commented. 

Feliks shrugged. "You were saying?" 

"That your relationship is more complicated now," Francis set his wine glass down and leaned forward. It was clear that Francis _ lived _ for some drama. "My apologies for being so nosy; I'm a psychology professor, and I like trying to figure people out." 

"Oh, so you're a therapist?" Feliks asked. 

"No, psychology _ professor _." 

"So you read minds?" 

"No, I'm a prof--" Francis turned to Tolys. "Is he _ always _like this?" 

"Kinda?" Tolys answered. “He doesn’t have a filter." 

Feliks moved in front of Tolys and grinned. "So if you read minds, what am I thinking right now?" 

Francis sighed. "I can't read your mind, but I can tell you that your whole goofy act right now is a cover up to hide your sensitivity." 

For the first time since Tolys had known him, Feliks had nothing to say. 

"Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. It's just, well, you're pretty easy to read." 

"You got all of that from just looking at me?" Feliks then asked, grinning. "Weeeeiiird. Now do Tolys!!" 

"Wai--" 

Francis took a deep breath. "Only if Tolys wants an opinion." 

Tolys gulped. "I guess?" 

"Okay," Francis paused, his attention seeming to be elsewhere for a second. "Lovino!! Could I have another glass of wine please? And something that isn't so heavy." 

Coming over to the table Lovino crossed his arms. "Why are you complaining about a chianti? _ Everyone _ loves a chianti." 

"I know but it's too heavy. Do you have something lighter? Maybe like a Sauvignon?" 

Lovino rolled his eyes. "Okay, I'm going to tell you for the _ last _ time: this is an _ Italian _ restaurant. Why would we carry _ French _wine?" 

"For variety!" Francis said, happily. "But I guess if you don't have that, get me some white wine then. A nice Pinot Grigio will suffice."

Stomping away in annoyance, Lovino grumbled under his breath: "Damn Frenchman, always so damn picky." 

Francis leaned on the table and smirked. "Where were we?" 

"You were gonna read Tolys' brain!" Feliks answered. 

Francis nodded. "Ah yes," He paused. "Actually, I'm kind of afraid to. There's _ a lot _that seems to be going on, and I only know the surface." 

Tolys hesitated. "I don't understand…" 

"You seem like the person who worries too much naturally, but something is causing you to be _ extra _ worried and anxious. I _ know _it's not Feliks, so it must be...Natalya, is it?" 

"Y-yes, my um...girlfriend." 

“Or soon to be ex-girlfriend, I presume?” Francis added. 

Tolys fidgeted in his seat. “About that, I don’t know what to do. We’ve been together for years and I--”

“Breakups are hard, but you shouldn’t be afraid of leaving her. Are you afraid of breaking up with her?” Francis asked. 

Feliks took in a sharp breath. “If you knew Natalya, you’d understand why it’s _ complicated _.” 

Francis hesitated, thinking what to say next. “I’m lost. I know _ you _ don’t like her,” he said, talking to Feliks. “But I figured it was because you were jealous of her since she was dating Tolys. Is there something _ else _going on?” 

Tolys and Feliks exchanged glances at one another, waiting for the other to speak. Feliks cleared his throat. “I think this is nicest way I can put this, but...Natalya is a cold-hearted _ bitch _ . I’ve never seen her smile and I’ve only heard her laugh _ once _, and it was when I smashed my face into a door.” 

Francis shrugged. “There’s nothing wrong with a little _ schadenfreude _ now and then.” he said, not thinking much of it. 

“Well, she was about to hit Tolys right in front of me once too.” Feliks continued. 

“Wha--”

“She also screams at him all the time. Like, _ constantly _.” 

Speechless, Francis turned to Tolys, waiting for his input. Taking a deep breath, Tolys closed his eyes. “I-it’s true,” he muttered. “I-I can never seem to make her happy. _ Nothing _ makes her happy. A-and I’m starting to think that...her constant belittling is what she _ thrives _ on.” 

“I’m sorry to hear all of this,” Francis said. “I didn’t think...it was _ this _dire. It’s...I thought it was just a cute little love triangle between the three of you.” 

“Honestly? I _ wish _ it was,” Feliks mumbled. “It’d be so much more fun.”

Lovino came by with Francis’ new glass of wine and kindly took their orders for their meal. When he left, the three of them sat in silence for a while until Feliks broke the silence. 

“So, how did _ you _get into drag?” he asked, changing the subject to something lighter. 

A smile came upon Francis’ face. “It’s sort of a long story. But, I really got into drag while I was studying for my Bachelor’s in New York. It was a hobby, at first, and soon it became a part of me.” He paused to sip his wine. “And you, Feliks?” 

“Dance school helped me embrace myself at a young age,” Feliks said. “Everyone thinks that rich kids can’t be weird, but I _ was _ the weird kid in school. _ Always _. And when I got to dance school, I finally felt like I could be myself.” He crossed his legs and leaned against the table. “I can’t really pinpoint when I got into drag, because I fell into it. Sorta. I dunno. I never minded wearing women’s clothes, or men’s clothes, or whatever clothes, I just loved performing. One day, Roksana Pierogi just existed and it’s been a journey ever since.” 

“I love that,” Francis said, smiling. “Isn’t it interesting how our drag personas just seem so natural to us? Like they’ve always been apart of us, even when we were younger, we just weren’t fully aware.” 

Feliks nodded, leaning forward; he had never really gotten a chance to talk about this before with another drag queen. This was a conversation that was long overdue. “Exactly! It’s like they’re asleep and waiting for you to wake them up or something!” 

Toly enjoyed listening to Feliks’ and Francis’ lively conversation as they connected over their profession. Their food eventually came and conversation continued, flowing in and out from different topics. Time was passing quickly, and they were soon losing track of the time. Feliks had another performance at ** _Atomica_ **, and he, Francis, and Tolys soon made their way over to the nightclub. If they were running late, Ludwig would have to deal with it. 

“You said you come from a rich family?” Francis asked. He was helping Feliks with his hair and finally had stopped insisting that Feliks try on a wig _ just once _. Tolys stood behind the two of them, watching them work in the mirror. For only having just met, the two had a great friendship already. 

“Yep,” Feliks answered, staring at the variety of lipsticks in front of him. “You from an average family?” 

Francis hesitated. “Something like that,” He set the brush aside. “I’m asking this as a joke, but, were you the kind of rich kid that had a pet horse?” 

Feliks quickly turned around and grinned. “How did you know?! I had a little pony!!” 

“I was joking,” Francis repeated, laughing. 

“I know, but I’m serious. I really had a pet horse! I got it for my 7th birthday!!” Feliks sighed in nostalgia. “He was such a good horse. I miss the little guy.” 

Francis was laughing. “I can’t believe it...a pet horse!” He soon calmed himself down. “So, how is your family then? Are you still close? You must be; I can sense it, almost.” 

Slowly, Feliks turned back around, keeping quiet. His demeanor quickly changed as he picked a dark red lipstick and began applying it. Smacking his lips together, he leaned back in his chair and sighed. “They’re gone.” he said, bluntly. 

Closing his eyes, Francis nodded in understanding. “I’m sorry,” he said, quietly. “Forgive me for asking, but--”

“Plane crash.” Quickly, he stood up, pushed past Tolys and Francis to make his way to the small bathroom in the room. “Excuse me.” 

The door quietly closed, leaving Tolys and Francis standing in silence. Francis turned for the door and cleared his throat. “I didn’t mean to upset him. He spoke so fondly of his past and his family that I thought...” He paused. “He doesn’t deal with emotions well, does he?

Tolys hesitated. “Not really.” The topic of Feliks’ parents had only come up twice before, and Feliks brushed it off every time. Even though it happened years ago, it seemed like it was still too sensitive subject for him. 

“Maybe it’s best that I leave?” 

“You don’t have t--” Tolys began, but it was already too late; Francis had already left the room. The room was unbearably quiet as Tolys stood still, unsure of what to do with himself. Moments passed, and he soon heard the sound of someone blowing their nose in the bathroom and sniffing.

Gently, Tolys knocked on the door. “Feliks? Are you...are you alright?” 

“I’m fine! I’m fine! I-I’ll uh, see you out there.” Feliks answered with false confidence. 

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Tolys asked. The topic of Feliks’ family had come up a few times, and Tolys saw that Feliks struggled with it each time if came up. “Do you wanna talk?” 

There was a hesitant paused. “No, no, I gotta go on stage soon anyway. What time is it?” 

Tolys looked around for the digital clock that sat on the counter. “You have maybe...twenty minutes until you go on?” 

Feliks sighed heavily. “So long…” he muttered. “I’m gonna step out, but you have to promise me you won’t laugh. It must be raining outside, cause there’s a leak somewhere because my face is a mess now and I have to fix it.” 

Tolys smiled sadly. _ That’s a strange cover up for the fact that he was crying. _ He knew for a fact that it _ wasn’t _raining outside; it hadn’t been forecasted. “Okay, I’ll look away.” 

Soon, while Tolys had his back turned from the bathroom door, Feliks emerged from the bathroom and snatched a makeup wipe from its container. As he wiped his face clean, Tolys slowly turned to watch him and frowned. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to ta--” he began. 

“I’m sure,” Feliks replied. With a toss, the used makeup wipe fell into the trash can delicately. Taking a deep breath, Feliks grabbed his makeup bag and started the application process again. 

“H-how long ago was it?” Tolys asked. 

Blending his foundation in, Feliks paused, glancing at Tolys in the mirror. “I don’t know. I was fifteen. So almost...ten years ago?” 

“W-what happened exactly? Was it a storm?” 

“They weren’t supposed to be coming home that night. That’s what happened.” Feliks muttered. Setting the blending sponge aside, he looked down at the counter. “They were supposed to come home two days later.” 

“But what made them come home so soon?” Tolys stepped closer. 

Hesitating, Feliks tapped his fingers on the counter. “I got sick.” 

“Sick?” 

“Yeah. You know how dancers are, right?” Feliks clarified. Tolys could tell he was shaking, trying to suppress his emotions. Taking a deep breath, Feliks continued. “I hadn’t eaten for quite awhile and it caught up to me. I collapsed at a rehearsal, and it wasn’t the first time either. So I ended up in the hospital. My parents were coming home early because it was an emergency. There was a storm and…” His voice trailed off as he slouched in the chair. 

Tolys stood behind him and put his hands on Feliks’ shoulders. “It wasn’t your fault, Feliks.” 

“I kn-know, but…it still feels like it is.” 

The room went silent. “I’m sorry I asked.” Tolys apologized. 

“No, I _ should _ talk about it more.” Turning around, Feliks rested his hands and chin on the back of the chair and smiled. He eventually took Tolys’ hand and squeezed. “I’ve never told _ anyone _about me being sick before. I’m much better about it now, though. My parents’ money was able to get me help, even though they were gone,” Feliks rambled. “Some days, I struggle though. It never really goes away. And money being so scarce is tough too. I know I was hungry, but I have no problem ignoring it. You know?” 

Tolys swallowed and nodded. From the moment he met Feliks, he knew that he was in a dire situation. He just hadn’t been aware of how dire it _ really _must have been. “Well, I’m glad you feel comfortable enough with me to tell me.” Tolys said. He sensed that there was still more to the story, but he knew that Feliks would tell him in time. 

Feliks turned back around and went back to applying makeup. “Thanks for listening.” he then said. 

Leaning over him, Tolys kissed Feliks’ cheek and smiled. “Anytime you wanna talk, I’ll listen. Okay?” With another kiss and a “boop” on the nose, Tolys made the way for the door. “Good luck, Feliks. I can’t wait to see what wild things you’ll do on stage tonight.” 

Feliks grinned. “_ Stage _? What about the bedroom?” 

“Huh?” 

“Oh, nothing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! Today's chapter probably feels a little bit like a "filler episode" and I apologize. But, I felt that Feliks and Tolys should spend some time together to explore what they want, especially for Tolys. I also wanted to give a glimpse of Francis and Feliks becoming friends as well. 
> 
> This chapter, though I probably said this last update but I actually mean it this time, is lighthearted to kind of prepare for what's to come next. 
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Comments and critiques are welcomed! I do my best to read every one and reply! The next update will be around February 8th! See you then! 
> 
> -Katelyn (violinia)


	13. A Day in Kyiv

It was very late at night when they decided to find a place to sleep, and Eduard gave the task of bringing in the luggage to Raivis as he checked into the very small, very cheap hotel. Fortunately, the place wasn’t  _ terribly  _ filthy, but it was run down. Paint was peeling off of the corners of the walls, stains spotted the carpet, and the smell of an old building lingered in the hallways. Once the two were settled in, Eduard and Raivis quickly fell asleep to prepare for a day of searching. 

When morning came, the two of them woke up and went to a nearby restaurant for breakfast. Eduard sipped his coffee while gazing at his phone, trying to find any online traces of Iryna Braginskaya, or rather, Sofia Chernenko. He alternated between the two names, desperately trying to find any online profiles. But it was obvious that this woman knew something about an online presence and how to get rid of it discreetly. 

No wonder Ivan struggled finding his older sister; she was nearly impossible to find. 

Until Eduard stumbled upon an old dating profile of Sofia’s and soon he was feeling accomplished. From the dating profile alone, Eduard could find plenty of details about Iryna. There were some pictures of her, so he knew what she looked like. Her birthday was on there as well, which confirmed her age. By trial and error, Eduard eventually was able to find her Facebook page, which of course had the information about her job. Iryna, or Sofia (God, this was confusing) was a language teacher at the local intermediate school. Taking a guess that she might be there, Eduard and Raivis set off to the school, hoping to catch a glimpse of Iryna Braginskaya. 

Raivis insisted on bringing his binoculars and sat in the passenger seat of the car with them, looking into the school windows. “There! I found her!” he soon cheered. 

Eduard nearly jumped out of his seat with excitement.  _ Let this be over soon so I can sleep.  _ “Where is she? Let me see.”

Raivis handed him the binoculars. “Look on the second floor window, the one all the way to the left. She has  _ huge _ boobs. You can’t miss them.” 

Eduard smacked Raivis’ arm lightly. “Don’t say that!” 

“What? She does!” Raivis said. 

“Ugh, I know you’re only fifteen, but you have to learn to be respectful, okay? Tell me what she’s wearing. Does she have any  _ other  _ distinguishing features?” 

“She’s wearing a dress. It’s kinda boring looking. It’s just easier to find her if you just look at her b--” 

Giving up, Eduard rolled his eyes and looked through the binoculars and tried to find Iryna. It seemed that she was giving a tutoring session for those who needed extra help. Sure enough, he found her standing by the chalkboard, pointing at something for emphasis. He hated to admit it, but Raivis was right; she  _ was  _ very well endowed. In fact, she was quite plump and voluptuous. 

“Alright, are we one-hundred percent sure that this is her?” Eduard whispered. He gave the binoculars back to the kid, resisting temptation to keep looking at Ivan’s  _ supposed _ older sister. 

“I’m about...eighty-five percent sure?” Raivis replied. 

Eduard took a deep breath. “Good enough. How do we approach her?” 

Raivis opened the small book bag he had brought with him and pulled out Ivan’s photo album, looking through the pages. 

“You  _ brought  _ that thing  _ with  _ you?!” Eduard hissed. “I thought I told you to give it back to him before we left?!” 

“If we go up to her and say ‘your brother Ivan sent us,’ there’s no way she would believe us. But if we have pictures, pictures she’d recognize, she’s more likely to believe us.” 

Eduard sighed; he  _ really  _ underestimated this kid. “Right. So we’ll wait until everything is over, and we’ll approach her then.” He looked over Raivis’ shoulder to look at some of the pictures. “Have you looked through all of these photos before?” 

“Huh? Oh, yeah. I’ve looked through this thing many times,” Raivis answered. “It’s kinda interesting; I feel like you can gather what kind of family they were even though there aren’t too many pictures in here. The first ten pages are photos dedicated to the Braginsky family, and the rest of it is dedicated to Ivan’s business landmarks.” Raivis closed the album and looked to Eduard. “You wanna look through it?”

“Yes, please.” 

Starting from the beginning, the first pictures Eduard looked through were the wedding photos of Anfisa and Dmitry Braginsky. Their wedding had been small and humble; there were many pictures of Dmitry carrying Anfisa around. It was obvious the two were incredibly happy at the time as the majority of their photos were filled with smiles and laughter. 

The next set of photos were of them moving into their house that was attached to a store front. Anfisa and Dmitry were gardeners, traits that Ivan obviously inherited. On the next page, the large collection of baby pictures began. All three kids had at least one page dedicated to them. However, Iryna being the first born, she had the most pictures in comparison to her two younger siblings. 

Every picture of them had their names and date of birth written in: 

_ Ирина Дмитриевна Брагинская _

_ Рожденные 24 августа 1989 года  _

_ Иван Дмитриевич Брагинский _

_ Рожденные 12 декабря 1991 года _

_ Наталья Дмитриевна Брагинская _

_ Рожденные 25 августа 1993 года  _

Just by looking at the years, Eduard came to an easy conclusion. “So, they’re all two years apart?” Eduard asked. 

“Obviously,” Raivis mumbled. “That’s some serious planning on their parents’ part.” 

Eduard snorted. “I highly doubt they planned it that way. Parents never do.” 

“You weren’t planned?” Raivis asked. 

“ _ God  _ no. Were you?” 

“I think so?” 

Eduard laughed; if that’s what Raivis was told, his parents were probably lying. 

As Eduard flipped through the rest of the photo album, he came to the conclusion that Iryna and Ivan looked most like their father and Natalya was the only one who looked most like her mother. From what Eduard could tell, from the pictures alone, they were a happy family, despite their imminent financial issues. 

“School’s out,” Raivis mentioned, sitting forward in his seat. “She’s walking to her car.” 

Running on adrenaline, Eduard quickly jumped out of the car and closed the door. Raivis followed suit, but was a bit more lethargic about it. “How should we introduce ourselves?” he asked. He realized that there was no good way to approach Iryna; they couldn’t come out of nowhere, claim they knew her brother and have a casual conversation. There had to be a better way. 

“Why don’t we just say it flat out?” Raivis suggested. 

“No, that won’t work. We’ll look like creeps,” They came around the corner to find Iryna putting her belongings in the back of her car and hesitated. “How about this, you ask her for directions,” 

“What?” 

“Ask for directions. Say we’re lost and we can’t find our hotel.” 

“But we know where out hotel i--” 

“Just do it, okay?!” 

Cautiously, they stood behind Iryna and waited for her to turn around. Eventually, she closed the back door and as she was moving to open the driver’s door, she glanced over her shoulder. She caught a glimpse of the two men standing behind her, and quickly looked again, jumping in surprise. Realizing that she wasn’t in danger, she put her hand over her heart and said something in Ukrainian. 

Eduard nudged Raivis’ elbow and waited for him to keep up his end of the bargain. Raivis stepped forward and began stammering in his poor Ukrainian. 

“Здрастуйте! М-можеш мені допомогти?” 

Iryna tilted her head and smiled politely. She replied back, but Raivis froze and stared at Eduard in panic. 

“What’s wrong?” Eduard whispered. 

“She talks too fast. I can’t keep up!” Raivis said, anxiously. 

“Ask her to speak slower then!” Eduard answered. 

Raivis obliged and Iryna nodded, repeating herself much slower. The two had a short conversation until Raivis looked at Eduard once again. “I don’t think she can understand me very well,” he whispered. 

“What do you mean?” 

“She doesn’t understand me! I’m not fluent enough!” 

“I thought you said you spoke Ukrainian?!” 

“I  _ thought _ I did, but I don’t know many polite words. I think my grandmother was swearing at me all the time!” 

“Well, what are we supposed to do now?!” Eduard hissed. 

“I can speak many languages,” Iryna said. Both Eduard and Raivis stared at her, dumbfounded. Iryna laughed nervously. “It’s a long story, but basically, I wanted to be a translator, so I studied a lot of languages. But, my network and sources fell through, so, here I am! A language teacher...” 

“C-could you understand us the first time?” Eduard asked. 

Iryna nodded. “I was just trying to be polite by not saying anything. I thought it might be weird.” 

With a nod, Eduard thought his next question through carefully. He decided to introduce himself with a handshake. “I’m Eduard, and this is Raivis.” 

Iryna smiled and shook Eduard’s hand. “I’m Sofia,” She took a step back and clapped her hands together. “So, I believe Raivis was trying to ask for directions? To…?”

“The hotel,” Raivis finished for her. 

“Ah, yes. Which hotel?” 

Raivis hesitated. Of course he hadn’t been paying attention to the name of the hotel they had checked into. “ _ The  _ hotel?” 

Iryna looked at them skeptically. Eduard could sense that she was becoming wary of them. “If you’re looking for money, I don’t have it,” she stated. 

“No, we’re not looking for money, it’s just--” Eduard paused. There truly was no way around this. “Do you have any relatives?” 

Iryna’s eyes widened in fear and she was on the defense. “N-no, I’m an only child.” Her hand started searching for the car door handle so she could quickly get into her car, if she needed to. 

“Are you sure? Because we know Iv--” Raivis began.

Eduard put his hand over Raivis’ mouth and cleared his throat. “W-we really don’t mean to startle you, Sofia, but y-you see, a f-friend of ours has been looking for someone who looks a lot like you.” 

Iryna didn’t respond. She had found the door handle and wrapped her fingers around it firmly. “I am an only child,” she repeated, her voice fading out as she spoke. 

“I-if I showed you who we were talking about, would you believe me? Would you trust me?” Eduard asked. 

“I don’t know who would be looking for me. I’m an only child. I grew up here, in Ukraine. You must have the wrong person.” She opened the door and started to climb in. “It was nice meeting you, Eduard and Raivis. Have a nice day,” 

“It’s your brother!” Eduard blurted. 

Iryna froze, indicating that Eduard’s words  _ meant  _ something. However, she turned around and continued to deny it. “I am an only child. I have no bro--” 

“I really, really don’t mean to scare you, Iryna, but I have no other way to do this,” Eduard continued. “We know your brother, Ivan. He sent us to find you, Iryna.” 

“My name is  _ Sofia _ ,” Iryna corrected. 

_ Shit _ . Eduard shook his head at his slip up. “That’s true, because you had it changed a while ago. But your  _ real _ name is Iryna.” Eduard paused. “Ivan has been looking for you for quite some time. He wants to see you.” 

Sighing, Iryna looked down at her feet, giving up the act. “Vanya doesn’t want to see me.” 

“Yes, he does!” 

“No,” Iryna said, shaking her head. “I was  _ told  _ he doesn’t want to see me.” 

Eduard narrowed his eyes. “By  _ who _ ? Ivan himself?” It was unlikely, but Eduard wouldn’t have been surprised if Ivan had sent him on this task just for a ruse. 

“No, my  _ sister _ . She made it very clear that I’m unwanted.” 

_ Natalya? She and Natalya made contact? When? And why Ivan wasn’t informed? _ Eduard scrambled for ideas at this point. Iryna didn’t seem to be convinced of his claims, and he needed to act quick before she got into her car and drove away. He started patting his pockets in search of his phone. “What if you talked to him? Would you...think differently?” 

Iryna shrugged. “Natalya made it  _ very  _ clear that she and Vanya are better off without me. Which, considering we’ve been apart for so long, I suppose is only fair.” 

Eduard shook his head. “No, but here’s the thing: I don’t think Ivan  _ knows  _ Natalya said that to you.” 

“What?” 

“Ivan made no mention that you’ve been in contact before. Is it true that you’ve never been in contact with him?” 

Iryna hesitated. “Y-yes.” 

“But you’ve been in contact with Natalya?” 

“Yes, but it was a couple of years back. She was moving the last of her things from Minsk to Warsaw, and made an effort to visit me here. That was the first time I saw her since…” Iryna paused and took a deep breath. “It was also the only time I saw her.” 

“You haven’t seen her since?” Eduard asked.  _ This is strange. Something’s not adding up _ . 

Iryna nodded. “When we met, she said that she and Vanya didn’t need me. She also said that she blames me for everything that happened. Which again...I suppose is fair.” 

Eduard felt lost; why was the Braginsky family so cryptic? Why were they so confusing? “I’ve met Natalya as well. Both she and Ivan live in Warsaw, and she’s made no mention of you.” Suddenly, it finally dawned on Eduard. “Call me crazy, but I don’t think she  _ told  _ Ivan that she was meeting up with you. I don’t think he knows at all about the two of you meeting,” 

“But why would she do that? What we went through…” Iryna paused; she was almost lost for words. “Families should stick together, even when they’ve been far apart for so long. I don’t understand why Natalya would do that.” 

“Maybe because you don’t know your sister as well as you think you do?” Raivis blurted. 

“Raivis!” Eduard hissed. He wished the kid would stop being so blunt. 

“No, no. He’s right; the last time I saw her prior to our meeting was when she was five. I hardly know her.” Iryna pushed her hair back behind her ears. “Perhaps it’s best we continue this conversation somewhere private. I don’t like talking about my old life in public; I’m very... _ paranoid _ about who hears it.” 

Eduard nodded, not wanting to pressure her, but couldn’t help but wonder what she meant by that. Was someone after her? There were  _ still _ too many missing pieces in this story. As annoying and frustrating as it was, Eduard was intrigued. 

“If you want, we could come back to my place,” Iryna offered. 

“Sure, that’d be great.” Eduard agreed. He was surprised that she was being so hospitable so suddenly, especially after being fearful of him and Raivis moments prior. But he had a feeling that Iryna was  _ nothing  _ like her two siblings, and didn’t have a mean bone in her body. 

Iryna looked around. “Do you two have a car? Or did you walk?” 

“We have a car.”

“Great,” Iryna opened the driver side door and smiled. “Would you be okay with following me?” 

“Of course. I’ll swing around.” 

Iryna’s house rested on the outskirts of Kyiv, in the countryside. It was a small and plain house, surrounded by trees and bushes. Inside the house, it was evident that Iryna did not have much; a simple couch sat in the living room, a small dining table for the dining room and an even smaller kitchen. 

For a single woman, it was perfectly sized. But with two extra guests, it was crowded. 

Hurrying into the kitchen, Iryna opened her refrigerator, trying to plan out what she’d make for a meal. “Are you two okay with pork?” she kindly asked. 

“You don’t have to make us dinner,” Eduard said. He felt bad imposing on the poor woman. 

“Oh, it’s no problem at all! I’m actually excited to cook for some company.” Iryna put the pieces of raw pork on the cutting board and grabbed her apron that was hanging next to the sink. 

“C-could we help at all?” Eduard asked. He felt  _ terrible _ about this. 

“I’m not helping,” Raivis mumbled under his breath. 

“Yes you are; not only are we terrorizing this nice woman, we’re imposing on her. You’re helping,” Eduard whispered. 

“But I’m tired,” Raivis whined. 

“So am I--” 

“Please, make yourselves at home! I know it’s a very small house, but it can be comfy,” Iryna said, not seeming to have heard Eduard and Raivis’ small argument. 

Eduard bit his lip and took a step into the kitchen. “Please, let me help. I feel really bad about this…” 

Iryna gently pushed him out of the kitchen. “No, no, you’re my guest. Please sit!” 

“P-please, I insist…” 

Iryna and Eduard continued to have the politest argument ever until Iryna eventually relented. Brushing her hands on her apron, she sighed. “Well, maybe you can help me get some vegetables from my garden.” 

She then opened the back door and stepped outside, Eduard followed close behind. In comparison to the house, the garden was rather large and covered by a thin, clear, vinyl tent. Despite its size, the amount of plants, vegetables, fruits and flowers that were growing was incredible. 

Iryna’s gardening skills put Ivan’s already impressive skills to shame. 

“If you could grab two tomatoes and onions that would be wonderful. I’ll grab some parsley and dill.” Iryna said, wandering off. 

“Uh,” Eduard stammered. He was looking around for the obvious, yet, he felt that he couldn’t find a thing. “Where are--” 

“The tomatoes are to your right and the onions are a couple of rows forward.” Iryna said. She hummed as she knelt down and picked up the herbs she needed. 

Eduard knelt down by the tomato vines and stared at the several tomatoes hanging. “H-how do I know which ones to pick?” 

“Trust your gut,” Iryna replied. 

“I don’t think my instinct is as good as your instinct.” 

Iryna laughed. “Well, if it feels a little tender when you squeeze it, it’s perfect.” 

Following her instructions, Eduard was able to find two tomatoes that seemed to fit the bill. “Do you grow all of your vegetables here?” 

“Most of them; it saves me money.” 

“Your garden is really impressive,” Eduard added. 

Iryna stood up and gave him a smile. “Thank you. It helps me take things off of my mind. Some days are too much, you know?” 

Eduard sadly nodded and followed her back inside the house. Despite her friendly and happy exterior, he could sense that Iryna carried a lot of pain with her. Pain from what happened to her parents, the pain of being separated from and missing her brother and sister, and pain from whatever else happened as she grew up in Ukraine; there was pain written all over her face. Eduard had never sensed this much pain from Ivan or Natalya. Though he was sure they carried it with them, they seemed to be better at hiding it from everyone around them. It was hard to believe Iryna was related to them at all. 

As he and she worked together to make  _ solyanka _ , Iryna seemed to be attentive to what Eduard was doing. He had accidentally cut himself with the knife as he was cutting the tomatoes, and before he could finish blinking, Iryna was there with a first aid kit and was tending to his minor wound. She was always gentle with her words and was motherlike. By the time dinner was ready, Iryna was sure to give Raivis a rather big serving of  _ solyanka _ . 

“You’re so small! You need to grow! Eat!” she said. 

There was something very lovely about Iryna, a quality Ivan or Natalya never carried. She was incredibly endearing. Beautiful, even.  _ How on earth is this woman a part of the Braginsky family? _ Eduard asked himself constantly. It all just didn’t seem to add up. 

“Dinner was absolutely delicious, Iryna,” Eduard said, wiping his mouth with the napkin. 

“Thank you,” Iryna replied, gathering up the dirty dishes. “I’m happy to hear that you enjoyed it.” 

“Raivis, why don’t you help clean up?” Eduard suggested to the young boy. 

“What? Why?” Raivis complained. 

“It’s not a big deal; I can easily clean up,” Iryna said. 

“You’ve worked really hard today, and it shouldn’t take Raivis long,” Eduard insisted.

Raivis sighed. “He just wants to ask you more questions,” he said, standing up. He kindly took the bowls and other dirty dishes from Iryna and stepped into the kitchen. 

With a heavy sigh, Iryna sat back down and folded her hands in front of her. “May I ask you a question? How much do you know about my family already?” 

As quick as he could, Eduard told her. 

She nodded. “So, you know a great deal about the murder of my parents then?” 

“Yes,” Eduard took a deep breath. “I’m so sor--”

“It’s okay,” Iryna said a bit too quickly. “I think I’m finally at the point where I can  _ admit  _ to myself it wasn’t my fault.” 

Eduard froze. “D-do you think it was your fault?” 

Iryna shrugged. “I blamed myself for a long time. For the death of my parents, for losing my brother and sister. I felt that I had failed everyone.” 

“But you were how old when it all happened?” 

“Nine.” 

The room went completely quiet for a second.  _ Nine years old. Nine years old when she lost everything. And she blames... _ herself _ ?  _ Eduard shifted in his seat uncomfortably. “You can’t blame yourself, though. You were just a kid.” 

“I know, but I did for most of my life. Some days, I still do. But, fortunately, therapy has helped a great deal. I thank my adoptive family for that. They didn’t have much, but they did everything they could for me.” Iryna smiled. “So, tell me about my brother. What’s he like? It’s been so long since I’ve seen him.” 

“He has a flower shop, a very successful one at that.” 

“Oh, how wonderful!” 

“I-I actually have his photo album. I could show you if you’d like?” 

“Yes please!!” 

Eduard pulled the photo album out from Raivis’ bag and handed it to Iryna. Her smile grew brighter once she saw it. “Y-you have to start in the middle if you want to see pictures of his business.” Eduard added. 

“I can’t believe he still has this,” Iryna mentioned. She smiled as she looked at the outer binding of the book as memories seemed to suddenly come back to her. “I gave this photo album our last Christmas together as a family. My mom picked the pictures for me and I did the rest. It was my gift for everyone, and I always wondered where it went.” She busied herself by looking through old photos of her family, doing her best to hide her tears. She stopped at the wedding pictures of her parents and stared at them for a long time. “Their love was so deep...they were so happy…” 

Eventually, she reached the newer pictures of Ivan and his flower shop. Upon seeing the first picture, Iryna gasped. “Look how tall he is!” she said, happily. “He looks just like Papa. I can’t believe it!” The fight to hide her tears had been lost, but her tears were happy this time. “He’s  _ thriving _ ,” she whispered. “My little brother is  _ thriving _ !” 

Eduard sighed; he hated that he would have to break her heart by telling her the reason why he was here.  _ Eventually _ . 

“How do you know my brother? Are you close friends?” Iryna asked, looking up from the photo album. 

“U-uh…” Eduard stuttered. “Um, it’s...complicated.” He paused. “H-have you heard about the serial killer in Warsaw?”

Iryna gasped. “No, it can’t be him.” she replied. 

“I  _ thought  _ it might be him…” Eduard began. 

“He’s so sensitive, he’d never hurt another soul. I might not have seen him in years, but I  _ know _ my baby brother,” She paused. “I didn’t mean to interrupt. Do you have any other clues?” 

Eduard shook his head. “Ivan agreed to help me, but only if I helped him find you first. But something tells me he’ll send me away once he hears the news.” 

Iryna shifted in her chair and sniffed. “Why did you suspect him?” 

“Well,” Eduard paused. “He’s rather strange. He’s distant and cold, and manipulates people to do his bidding.” 

Iryna leaned back in her chair, took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “I see,” she muttered. “So his heart grew cold over the years.” She shook her head. “Even so, I still can’t see Vanya  _ killing _ someone.  _ Ever _ .” 

“The jury is still out for me,” Eduard said. “By the way, when I heard the story about what happened to your parents, I always thought Ivan witnessed it. But he claims he didn’t. Is that true?” 

“Yes,” Iryna answered. “He wasn’t near the house when it all happened.” 

“Where was he then?” 

“We all were supposed to be hiding at our Uncle Sergey’s house…” 

Eduard leaned forward. “But?” 

“I had to go back,” Iryna whispered. 

When she didn’t explain immediately, Eduard asked: “Why?” 

Iryna bit her lip. “Perhaps it’s better I tell you the whole story...” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Today is an exciting day because today we get TWO chapters for the update! Yes! Mainly because I didn't want the cliffhanger of this chapter to last too long, because cliffhangers SUCK. But, I must warn you: Chapter 14 will have graphic content due to violence. I will put an official trigger warning at the beginning of the chapter in the Author's Notes, but I wanted to warn you here as well. 
> 
> So we get to meet Ivan's long lost sister after all! Isn't that exciting? I know it's kinda late to introduce a new character, but Iryna is just too important to leave out! Also, she never gets any love from the fandom I feel like?????? Honestly, she's too good for this world and must be protected. 
> 
> Chapter 14 will be up momentarily! See you there! 
> 
> -Katelyn (violinia)


	14. Flashback

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE READ TRIGGER WARNINGS: In this chapter, there are mentions of violence, blood, guns and implications of r*pe. 
> 
> This chapter is also very long, and very intense.

_ Москва, Россия _

_ Февраль 1998 _

“_Пиздец_! _Пиздец_!” 

In the bitter cold days of February, Iryna liked to sit as close to the wood stove for as long as possible. In her corner, she sat on top of an old pillow with two blankets resting in her lap. In her corner, it was peaceful and quiet. 

“_Пиздец_! _Пиздец_!” 

Iryna closed her eyes and sighed heavily. It was only peaceful when her five-year old sister _ wasn’t _swearing for attention. 

“Natalya, please stop,” Iryna pleaded. “Don’t let Mama catch you saying such nasty things.” Iryna knew what kind of trouble Natalya would get in if she were caught; the punishment for swearing was eating soap. Iryna swore once when she was younger, and after her punishment, never did it again. 

Natalya, who had been “playing” with her toys, marched over to her older sister and got in her face. A snide smirk curled upon her lips as she whispered: “_Пиздец_!” 

Closing her book, Iryna put on her best smile. “Why don’t we play a game?” she offered. Her father was always telling her to ignore Natalya’s bad behavior. All Natalya wanted was attention, even if it was negative attention. 

“No, games are dumb.” 

“We could go outside and play in the snow…” Iryna added. 

“No!” Natalya turned away and went back to her toys. With determination, she pulled off the head of Iryna’s old doll with ease and threw it across the room. 

Iryna tried to ignore it; Natayla _ knew _how much that doll had meant to her sister, yet, she continued to destroy Iryna’s old toys. “Aw, c’mon Natalya, you love building snowmen!” 

“Yeah, with _ Vanya _. Not you. You’re boring.” 

“I’m not bo--!” Iryna stopped herself; this was what Natalya wanted. Regardless of her young age, Natalya was clever and she loved making people riled up. She _ especially _liked upsetting Iryna, scaring Ivan, angering their mother, and worrying their father. 

Instead, Iryna moved over to the coat closet and started gathering her and Natalya’s coats. “It’ll be fun, and you can stop...tearing off the heads on your dolls.” Iryna stated, putting on her coat. 

Natalya scowled. “I don’t want to build a _ stupid _snowman.” 

“A snowball fight, then.” Iryna added. She threw Natalya’s coat on her sister’s head. “Come on, it’ll be fun!” 

“_Пиздец_!” Natalya repeated for the _ millionth _time. 

“Nope, you’re not going to make me angry by saying that,” Iryna said, forcing a cheery smile.

“_Блять_!” 

Iryna grimaced; her sister _ really _shouldn’t be saying these words. “Come on, put your coat on! We can build forts and have a rivalry!” she continued, trying to distract her sister. 

“_Сука_!!” 

Iryna gasped. “Natalya!!!” The other two words had been said around her as mistakes, but Iryna never recalled that word being said. How did her sister learn it? 

Natalya sneered and began putting her coat on, repeating the word, along with different variations. “_Сука, cука, cука, cука_! _Сука блять_!” 

“Natalya!!!” 

Iryna flinched at the sound of her mother’s harsh voice, knowing the hell that was about to rain down. She stood to the side, trying to get out of the way. 

“I have _ no idea _who taught you these words, but I’m sick of hearing them come out of your mouth!!” 

“_Сука бля_\--” Natalya began, but then her mother started dragging her away towards the kitchen. Natalya did not protest, in fact, her odd smile widened as she had gotten the attention she wanted. 

With both of their parents constantly working the gardening shop next door, Dmitry and Anfisa were hardly ever around. Anfisa, once a soft, kind, gentle and naturally beautiful woman, was now a shell of the person she used to be five years ago. She was a lot harsher and stressed, with a near permanent scowl on her face. She was always exhausted and never seemed to be as playful as she used to be. 

Grabbing a bar of soap from the cabinet below the kitchen sink, Anfisa picked up her youngest daughter and sat her on the kitchen counter. “Alright, Natalya, you know the drill,” she muttered. She didn’t _ like _punishing her daughter, no mother ever did, but Natalya constantly tested her. The typical punishments Iryna and Ivan had didn’t seem to be working with Natalya, and Anfisa was almost at a loss. 

“I like the taste of soap,” Natalya said, before putting the bar of soap in her mouth. 

Groaning, Anfisa acted quickly and snatched the soap from her daughter. “Well if you like it, then I suppose we have to stop it,” she said. She tossed the bar of soap into the sink and marched back out into the living room, collecting Natalya’s toys. 

“Hey!! My toys!” Natalya cried out. 

“You’ll get them back when you learn how to behave!!” Anfisa hissed, walking up the stairs. 

Natalya, stranded on the tall kitchen counter and unable to climb down, crossed her arms and swore under her breath. Iryna closed her eyes, hoping to find a brief escape from her family’s madness. 

Things had been perfect when it was just Iryna and Ivan. The house was quiet, their parents read them stories and played games with them. But once Natalya was born, it seemed like all of the good times disappeared. Natalya’s presence put a lot of strain on the family, financially and emotionally. Suddenly, there was another mouth to feed, another child to clothe, not to mention that Natalya was a _ handful _. Her personality was completely different from her siblings, and her parents had no idea how to handle that. 

Iryna and Ivan were just like Anfisa and Dmitry, but Natalya? Natalya was the wild card. 

When Anfisa returned downstairs, Iryna followed her towards the back entrance of the house where they could easily reach the shop. “Mama, do you need any help?” Iryna asked. She wanted to get away from the house; just sharing a room with her sister was exhausting enough. 

Anfisa stopped and turned to look at her oldest. “That’s very sweet of you, Iryna, but I need you to stay here with your sister,” she answered. 

“But Mama--”

“I know, but she needs someone to watch her. You know how she is.” Anfisa paused. “Have you memorized the recipe for _ solyanka _ yet?” 

Iryna nodded. She had taken an interest in cooking a couple of years ago, and recently, had been helping her mother cook dinners side-by-side. 

Anfisa smiled. “How do you feel about trying it out for yourself? Things are busy down at the shop.” 

“Cooking by myself? Mama, that’s scary! I don’t know how--” 

“I was a little bit older than you when I started cooking for my family. And you’re a very smart girl; I know you can do it.” Anfisa encouraged. 

“But Mama I--” 

Iryna was interrupted by a loud crashing sound from the kitchen, most likely from Natalya throwing something off of the counter. Anfisa leaned her head back and groaned. 

“_Боже_, that child.” She opened the door and froze. “Where’s your brother?” 

“I think he said some other kids invited him over to play.” 

Anfisa looked at her with concern. “Do you know who those kids were?” 

“No,” Iryna paused. “I didn’t want to discourage him. You know how it is at school, maybe he’ll make new friends today.” 

Anfisa nodded. “Let’s hope for the best, then.” 

With that, Iryna’s mother left the house and made her way back over to the shop. Iryna sighed, turning around and stepping into the kitchen to find a huge mess. Natayla had shoved all of the boxes and containers off of the counter and was laying down on the counter, kicking her feet. 

“Natayla, clean this up please.” 

Natalya smirked. “You’re not Mama.” 

“I asked nicely.” 

For once, Natalya’s smirk disappeared and it _ seemed _ like she felt something close to remorse. She looked just like any other child: eyes wide with fear of what punishment would come. Iryna helped her sister down from the counter and helped her clean up the mess she made. Once they had finished cleaning up the mess, they heard the front door open. Without even checking, Natalya ran out of the kitchen to greet her brother with a clingy hug. 

Almost falling over, Ivan caught himself and hugged his sister back. “Hi, Natalya,” Ivan sighed. Just from the sound of his voice, it sounded as if things hadn’t gone well with his new “friends.” 

Iryna stepped out of the kitchen to greet Ivan as well, but she stopped in her tracks once she noticed the huge cut on his forehead. “Vanya, what happened?!” she asked. 

Ivan frowned and looked down. Iryna knew he was trying to hide his tears. “We were having a snowball fight, but no one told me that _ I _ was going to be the _ only _target,” he mumbled. “And no one told me that rocks were allowed in the snowballs.” 

Iryna pushed Natalya out of the way to get a closer look at the cut. It didn’t seem to be bleeding anymore, but it definitely needed to be covered up with a bandage. “Mama has a first aid kit somewhere,” she mentioned, making her way to the steps. “Stay there, I’ll go find it.” 

Running quickly upstairs to retrieve the first aid kit under her parents’ bed, Iryna was back in the living room as quickly as she had left. Ivan flinched as she cleaned the cut a bit and put a bandage on. Gently, she pulled him close and kissed his forehead, just like their mother would do. 

“There,” Iryna said with a smile. “All better. Now, can you watch Natalya for me? I have to cook dinner,” 

“Doesn’t Mama do that?” Ivan asked. 

“Yes, but she asked me to,” 

Ivan looked at his younger sister, grimaced, and turned back to Iryna. “Can’t I just help you?” He _ hated _ being alone with his younger sister; she was only clingy towards him and not to mention _ weird _. 

Iryna hesitated. “I guess, but keep Natalya away from touching anything.” 

The two of them went into the kitchen and miraculously were working together to cook some _ solyanka _. Iryna was doing her best to remember everything her mother did and mumbled several prayers under her breath that the meal would turn out well. 

By the time the meal was finished, Anfisa and Dmitry had just finished closing up the shop for the night and settled into the house. Carefully, Iryna carried the pot of soup onto the dining table and watched her parents in her peripheral vision. They were whispering again, a sign that they were arguing about work. Naturally, Iryna never knew the full details of the issues of the shop. But for the past year and a half, she had noticed her parents arguing more and more. 

Clearing her throat, Iryna put on her best smile. “Dinner is ready.” she announced. 

Their argument came to a halt as both Anfisa and Dmitry looked over at the dinner table. Astonished, Dmitry came over first to look at the pot and back to his eldest daughter. “You made this, Irinushka?” he asked, amazed. 

“Yes, Papa,” she answered with a nod. 

Her father, being so tall, knelt down and gave her a hug. “Oh _Божe_, when did you get so big?” he said, kissing her forehead. “Anfisa, look! She’s growing up too fast! Soon she’ll be cooking a whole feast!” 

Anfisa laughed and crossed her arms. “See, I knew she’d be able to do it with no problem,” She paused. “It smells delicious, Iryna.” 

Iryna smiled proudly. “Thank you, Mama.” 

Her father pulled her in for another hug before standing up. “The food smells good, indeed. But don’t make this a regular occurrence now; you’re still young and I want you to have fun. Okay?” 

“Yes, Papa.” 

Stepping around her husband, Anfisa peered into the kitchen where Ivan stood and Natalya was hiding. “Ivan, Natalya, come over here and eat.” 

Ivan was the first to come over to the dining table, keeping his head low in attempt to hide the bandage on his head. But of course, Anfisa saw it right away and asked about it. After a brief angry rant, the family said a prayer and began the meal. 

Suddenly Dmitry groaned and turned to his wife. “Where’s Natalya?” 

Anfisa looked at Natalya’s empty chair and sighed. “_Блин_, that child.” she said, standing up and walking into the kitchen. Natalya was hiding around the corner with her hands behind her back. Anfisa massaged her temples. “Natalya, what are you doing? Come and eat.” 

Natalya didn’t budge, only smiled. 

“_ Natalya _,” Anfisa‘s voice raised in warning. “Come and eat.” She paused, noticing Natalya’s stance. “What do you have behind your back?” 

Natalya grinned and held out her hand. “A knife.” 

“Why do you have a knife?!?!” Anfisa shouted. 

“Why does she have a knife?!” Dmitry hollered from the dining room. He nearly jumped out of his seat and peered around the corner to witness it himself. “_Блять_!”

Anfisa glared at him. “_ Dmitry _!!” 

Dmitry practically shrunk at the tone of his wife’s voice. “Sorry, I meant to say _блин_.” 

“Papa swore! That means _ I _ can swear!” Natalya cheered. 

“No, no, that’s not what that means.” She made an attempt to take the knife away from her daughter. “Give me the knife, Natalya.” 

Natalya took a step back and scowled, holding the knife above her head. “Give me my toys back, Mama.” 

Taking a step back, Anfisa looked to her husband, panicking. “What is _ wrong _with her?” 

Dmitry shook his head. “I’ve told you a million times, already; she’s _sick_. She needs _help_, Anfisa.”

“But we can’t _ afford _it,” Anfisa turned her attention back to Natalya. “Give me the knife, and I’ll give you your toys.” 

Natalya lowered the knife. “Promise?” 

“I promise.” 

Skeptical, Natalya handed the knife to her mother and wandered over to the dining room table. Sitting in her chair, she picked up her spoon and ate her soup, acting as if everything was normal. Iryna and Ivan looked at each other in terror. 

“Why is she so _ scary _?” Ivan asked, whispering. 

“I don’t know,” Iryna replied. It wasn’t normal for a five year old to be this clever. It wasn’t normal for a child to terrorize her whole family. It wasn’t normal for her to swear like a sailor at five, and it wasn’t normal for her to threaten her own mother and _ win _. 

There was something very wrong with Natalya _ indeed _. 

Everyone needed to be in bed by 9:00 to be sure Iryna, Ivan and Natalya got enough sleep for school the next day. There was a routine that all siblings had; take a bath, brush your teeth and check in on your brother and sister before you fall asleep. Sometimes Dmitriy or Anfisa would read them all a bedtime story if they had the energy. But now, Iryna was the one reading to her brother and sister. 

By the time morning came, Iryna usually woke up to find both her brother and sister sleeping beside her. Ivan struggled with nightmares on a daily basis, so he would often wake Iryna up and ask if he could spend the rest of the night next to her. Iryna didn’t mind. 

Natalya, on the other hand, seemed to go wherever Ivan went. She had an obsession for her brother, and though it was borderline weird, the Braginsky family dismissed it. She was the youngest sibling, and younger siblings typically got attached to the sibling closest to their age. 

It was just that Ivan _ didn't like _Natalya. Whenever he had anything to do with it, he avoided her like the plague. 

Iryna was the first to wake up, finding herself trapped against the wall. Natalya was closest to the edge of the bed, and waking her up would be a _ hellstorm _. Gently, Iryna pushed Ivan aside and crawled her way out of the bed, being sure not to wake her sleeping siblings. 

Wandering to the bathroom, Iryna overheard voices downstairs. It was strange, because usually her parents weren’t awake at this time. She crept to peek into her parents’ bedroom and found her mother still fast asleep. But her father was nowhere to be found. 

“We need our payment, Dmitry,” 

“And I told you, I need more time!” 

Whoever Iryna’s father was speaking to, they sounded mean and scary. They did not sound familiar, either. Iryna knew her relatives' voices well, and she knew most of them lived far away. The closest relative was her Uncle Sergey, and it was highly unlikely that an alcoholic like him would be awake at this hour. 

“You should have the money back by now,” the stranger said. 

“I need more time,” Dmitry pleaded. “I promise I’ll get it back to you. One month isn’t enough time!” 

Slowly, Iryna slid down the stairs to catch a glimpse of the person her father was talking to. 

“You knew the rules when you contacted us. It’s not _ our _fault you can’t keep your word.” 

“I came to you because we were friends, Andrey. I thought you’d be more understanding!” Dmitry continued. 

“People change, Dmitry. I changed in order to survive this economy. Perhaps you should consider doing the same.” 

Iryna accidentally took a misstep and tripped down a couple of stairs. Clumsily, she stood back up and looked at her father, who was staring at her wide-eyed. 

“What are you doing up?” he asked in a low voice. 

“I heard voices and I wanted to see what was going on,” Iryna answered. “Papa, what’s going o--”

“Go back upstairs, Irinushka.” her father said, urgently. 

“But Papa--”

“No, no, don’t send her away,” the stranger, Andrey, said. “Come over here, little girl. I want to see you.” 

“No, she needs her rest. It’s early and she has school soon.” He started to push Iryna back up the steps. 

“Bring her here,” Andrey demanded, raising his voice. 

Reluctant, Dmitry led Iryna down the remaining steps and had her stand in front of him. Iryna looked up at this strange man named Andrey and finally sensed the full tension in the room. Andrey was tall, but not as tall as her father, and had three scars on his face. One above his mouth, one on his left cheek and one that started from his eyebrow and ended at the bottom of his eye. His blond hair was thinning, his icy blue eyes pierced through you, and his smile was chilling to the bone. 

He looked as scary as he sounded. 

But he smiled as he leaned over Iryna and lifted her chin to get a better look at her. He glanced up to Dmitry and smirked. “You know, payments don’t always have to be made in cash,” Andrey stated. “You have a beautiful daughter, Dmitry.” 

Dmitry pushed Andrey away and scowled. “Keep your hands away from her,” he hissed. “This doesn’t involve her.” 

Andrey didn’t care. He stepped closer to Iryna and grabbed her chin firmly, admiring her face. “Tell me, little girl, what’s your name?” Iryna tried to pull away to look at her father, but Andrey held her back. “Tell me, _ little girl _, what is your name?” 

“I-Iryna,” she answered. 

Andrey grinned. “Iryna. What a beautiful name. My name is Andrey.” He brushed her hair back with such surprising tenderness, Iryna shivered in fear. He chuckled. “Do you have any siblings, Iryna? A sister, perhaps?” 

Iryna gulped and shook her head. “No.” 

Andrey looked to Dmitry, skeptical. “I thought you had a son and another daughter as well?” 

“You thought wrong,” he lied. “Now, will you let her go?” 

“Perhaps we can make an arrangeme--” Andrey began. 

“I _ will _ get your money,” Dmitry hissed. “And you _ will _leave my family alone.” 

Andrey’s smirk was persistent; he was amused. “Very well,” he said, straightening himself. He forcefully pushed Iryna towards her father and laughed. “She’s a little plain looking anyways. Too bad she didn’t inherit your wife’s looks.” 

Dmitry led Iryna to the steps and glared at his supposed “friend.” “She is a _ child _, Andrey.” 

Andrey sneered. “I don’t think you realize how many _ businesses _I have, Dmitry.”

“Irinushka,” Dmitry muttered. “Go upstairs.” 

Happy to leave the creepy man behind, Iryna nodded and ran up the stairs as fast as she could. Reaching her bedroom, she slammed the door behind her and leaned against it, panting. Both Ivan and Natalya, who had still been sleeping, sat up in bed and rubbed their eyes.

“Iryna, what’s wrong?” Ivan asked, yawning. 

“Nothing,” Iryna lied. “Go back to sleep.” 

“But we have to get ready for school,” Ivan added. 

“A few more minutes won’t hurt.” 

Natalya, sliding out of the bed, scowled at her sister. “You’re too noisy,” she complained. 

“I know, and I’m sorry.” 

“Are you _ sure _everything is okay?” Ivan asked. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” 

Iryna gulped; she knew she couldn’t tell her siblings about the terrifying man downstairs, but she also didn’t want to lie. She was horrible at lying, and trying to keep up with the lie was difficult. 

“It’s just really cold today,” Iryna said, looking down at her bare feet. “Both of you should dress warm.” 

There was a knock at the door, followed by their father stepping into the room. His face was serious, and sad at the same time. “Ivan, Natalya, go wash up and get ready for the day,” he said. “Iryna, I’d like to talk to you.” 

As Ivan and Natalya were making their way out of the room, Natalya grinned. “Iryna’s in trouble, Iryna’s in trouble!” she sang. 

Dmitry closed the door and took a deep breath. “You weren’t supposed to hear that this morning,” he mumbled. He rested his head on the door and closed his eyes. “Are you alright, Irinushka?” 

Iryna nodded. “Yes, Papa,” She paused. “Who was that man?” 

Dmitry turned around and frowned. “A bad business partner,” he answered. He then smiled. “You are so brave. He is a scary man, and you didn’t show a single ounce of fear.” 

“But I _ was _ scared, Papa.” 

Her father moved over to the bed and sat down. He patted the space next to him. “Sit next to me. Let’s talk.” Iryna quickly sat next to him and he put his arm around her. “Andrey is not a nice man, in fact, he is very bad.”

“Why are you friends with him then?” Iryna asked. 

“Because I thought I could trust an old friend,” Dmitry sighed. “I thought I could trust him because we needed money.” 

“Needed money?” 

“For our shop, Iryna. Business hasn’t been good.” 

Iryna frowned. “Why?”

Dmitry shook his head. “People don’t come to our store like they used to. No one has any cash to spare.” He took a deep breath. “I want you to know that I have done everything I can for my family. For you, for Vanya, and for your mother.” 

“And Natayla?” Iryna added. 

Dmitry thought for a second. “Yes, and Natalya. I’ve done everything, and I will continue to do everything to protect all of you.” 

“Does Mama know about Andrey?” Iryna asked. 

Dmitry let out a big sigh. “Yes, she does. And once she finds out that he was here and saw you, she’s going to have my head.” He pulled his daughter closer to him, kissing the top of her head. “I need you to promise me something, Iryna. I need you to promise me that you will always protect your brother and sister for me.” 

“I promise,” Iryna replied. 

“Then will you do something for me? Tonight, you need to take Ivan and Natalya across the field and hide in your Uncle Sergey’s house.” 

“But--”

“Andrey is not a nice man. He has seen your face, and I fear what he may do tonight.” Dmitry paused. “Your mother will be with you. But you have to make sure Ivan and Natalya do not get lost.” 

“What about you, Papa? You’ll be with us too, right?” Iryna asked. 

Dmitry hesitated, looking away. “I’ll catch up to you guys.” 

Iryna wasn’t convinced. Something about all of this didn’t feel right; what had her father done with this Andrey person? Why did he have to give him money? “Promise?” 

“I promise, Irinushka. I promise.” He patted her back and put on his best smile. “You have school to get ready for, don’t you?” He stood up and picked her up and spun around a bit. “How is the smartest girl in town doing in school? Still amazing everybody?” 

Iryna giggled. “I guess?” 

“Ah, that’s my girl. Always remain humble; remember that, Iryna. People respect those who are humble.” 

“Okay, Papa.” Iryna laughed. 

Dmitry laughed boisterously. “You think I’m crazy, don’t you? For saying such strange things?” 

“_Нет_!” 

“It’s okay if you do.” He put his daughter back down to her feet and chuckled. “Just know that one day, my words will make sense to you.” He then left the room as Iryna stepped into the bathroom only to find chaos between Ivan and Natalya. 

The walk home from school was colder than ever, and Iryna struggled to keep her younger sister close. “Natalya, come on. It’s cold and Mama wouldn’t want you wandering off,” she said as gently as she could. It was snowing and the wind was rather fierce, making it difficult to keep a steady walking stance. 

Without saying anything, Natalya pulled her hand away from her sister and began running ahead of her. Quickly, Iryna grabbed her sister’s arm and pulled her back. “Natalya, please! Stop it!!” 

“She’s only going to keep doing that because you don’t want her to,” Ivan mentioned. He then smiled. “Just let her go. Maybe it’d be better if she got lost anyw--”

“_ Ivan _,” Iryna gasped. She stopped in her tracks to glare at her brother. “Don’t say things like that!” 

Ivan stopped a few steps ahead of his sisters and turned around, frowning. “I was just joking,” he then said, looking away. He was lying; Iryna knew he had meant what he said 100%. 

“It wasn’t funny,” Iryna said. She began walking ahead again, dragging Natalya, who had gone limp in protest to holding her sister’s hand, behind her. “Don’t say things like that, understand? It’s not nice.” 

Eventually, the three of them returned home safe and sound, quickly taking off their coats and scarves. The house was completely silent, which was relatively normal, except there was a strange air. A lot of the things that decorated the house were missing. Decorative plates, furniture, books; they were all gone. All that was left was the dining room table and the wooden chairs that were already falling apart. 

“Are we moving?” Ivan asked. 

“N-no,” Iryna answered, hesitantly. She had a feeling that her parents sold things in an attempt to get more money to pay Andrey. She hoped that they would be successful.

There was some clanging from the kitchen where their mother was pulling plates out of the cabinet to serve an early dinner. She soon came out, setting the plates gently on the table. 

“Mama, what are you do--” Iryna began. 

“We’re doing everything early tonight,” Anfisa answered too quickly. “Dinner, bath, bedtime. All of it has to be early.” 

“Why?” Natalya whined. “I’m not hungry.” 

Anfisa stood behind the chair where her husband typically sat, running her finger across the back of it. “Because,” she muttered. “We have to.” 

“What about Papa?” Ivan asked. 

“He’s in the shop, closing up. He’ll be here soon.” 

Iryna, Ivan, and Natayla ate in silence as their mother paced back and forth in the living room. She was obviously nervous and worried, but wasn’t going to give any information as to what was going on exactly. 

It was probably for the best, or so, Iryna assumed. 

The sound of the back door closing startled everyone as Dmitry made his way to the dining room, solemnly. Anfisa rushed to him, hugging him tight before asking in a soft whisper: 

“Is it enough?” 

Dmitry said nothing as he pulled away from her and held her hands, sighing. Judging from his silence, Iryna assumed the answer was a clear no. 

“I won’t abandon you,” Anfisa added. Her voice wavered as she was trying to hold back tears. “I won’t let you stay behind. We need to all go as a family to Sergey’s h--” 

“Anfisa, not in front of the children,” Dmitry muttered, gently pulling her into the kitchen. “We don’t want to upset them.”

As her parents whispered and argued, being sure their voices were unintelligible, Iryna picked at her food. Suddenly, she wasn’t hungry. _ Do we really have to leave? Where are we going to go? How scary is this Andrey? _She thought to herself. Her stomach had butterflies at the thought of something terrible happening. Her father had seemed so scared this morning; how much danger had he accidentally put them in? 

“Are you gonna eat your potatoes?” Natalya asked, staring at Iryna’s full plate. 

Iryna slid her plate closer to her sister. “No, you can have them.” 

As Natalya greedily took the potatoes off Iryna’s plate, Ivan watched in worry. “You didn’t eat _ anything _.”

“I’m just not hungry,” Iryna replied, shrugging. She put on her best smile and slid the plate to her brother. “Want anything?” 

Ivan stared at her skeptically. “What’s going on?” 

“Nothing,” Iryna lied. “Nothing’s wrong.” 

“Something’s wrong. Mama and Papa are whispering, Papa wanted to talk to you this morning. Mama and Papa are _ always _ tell _ you _things. It’s not fair,” Ivan muttered. 

Sighing, Iryna sat back in her chair. “I’m the oldest, Vanya. _ Of course _Mama and Papa are going to tell me things.” 

“I'm the second oldest!” Ivan protested. “I should know too!” 

“I can’t tell you anything unless Mama and Papa told me to! Okay? I’m sorry, Vanya.” Trying to push the argument aside, Iryna looked down at her plate to discover that it was empty. She turned to Natalya to see that she had put all of Iryna’s portions on her plate while she wasn’t looking. Groaning, Iryna took her sister’s plate and took back some of her portions. 

“You said you weren’t hungry!” Natalya shouted. 

“I changed my mind,” Iryna mumbed. 

Natalya crossed her arms and scowled. “_Су_\--”

“Not _ now _, Natalya. Not now.” 

For once, Natalya listened. 

The three of them were sent to bed early to get some rest, but Iryna couldn’t sleep. Both Ivan and Natalya had crawled into her bed to sleep quite some time ago, and normally, she had no problem falling asleep to their soft snores. 

But she knew what was to come, and even though she needed some rest before they hurried to their uncle’s house, sleep did not keep her company. 

Iryna heard distant murmurs from down the hall, her mother and father were still discussing what to do in order to save their skin. She knew she was too young to understand what they had done to cause this or why they really did it. 

The bedroom door creaked as it opened, her father peering around it. “Irinushka?” he whispered. 

Gently pushing her brother aside so he wouldn’t wake, Iryna sat up. “Papa?” 

“Хорошо. You’re awake,” he murmured, stepping further into the room. “It’s time.” 

Iryna hesitated, glancing at the clock. “Papa, I don’t want to go,” she then said, timidly. 

Dmitry took a deep breath. “I know. I don’t want you to go either. But I’d rather you be safe then…” He couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence. “Come downstairs, Irinushka. Wake your brother and sister up.” 

As her father left, Iryna looked at her sleeping siblings and sighed. They were going to ask questions, questions that she didn’t really have answers for. Carefully, she woke Ivan first. 

Groaning, he rubbed his eyes as he sat up. “What?” he grumbled. 

“We have to go,” Iryna stated. 

“Huh?” 

“We have to go. Go downstairs.” 

Ivan sat still. “I don’t understand. Where are we going?” 

Iryna bit her lip. “Uncle Sergey’s.” She looked at Natalya. “Can you wake her up, please? _ Gently _.” 

Natayla, as per usual, was clinging to Ivan as she was sound asleep. She was a heavy sleeper, and waking her up in the middle of the night most certainly wasn’t ideal. 

“Natayla,” Ivan muttered, shaking her. “Wake up.” 

“Gentle, Vanya. _ Please _ be _ gentle _,” Iryna repeated. 

Eventually, Ivan pushed Natalya off of the bed and she landed with a loud thud. She didn’t complain, nor cry; she merely stood up, dusted herself off and glared at her siblings. Even though it was dark, Iryna could feel her younger sister’s icy cold glare cut through her. 

Climbing off of the bed, Iryna took Natalya’s hand and led her downstairs with Ivan following closely behind. Their mother and father were waiting for them in the living room, with sullen faces. Anfisa forced a smile and knelt down beside her children, helping them put on their coats and scarves. Soon, she pulled all three of them in a hug and kissed their foreheads. 

“Uncle Sergey’s house is straight across the field, okay? You’ll be safe there.” Anfisa told them. “Go as fast as you can, okay?” 

“I wanna sleep,” Natalya stated, yawning. “Can I go back to bed?” 

“Natalya, listen to me,” Anfisa said. “You need to listen to your sister, okay? Just for the night.” 

“I wanna sleep.” Natalya reiterated, with anger this time. “Uncle Sergey smells bad.” 

“Only sometimes,” Iryna chimed in. She hugged her mother again. “You’re coming, aren’t you?” 

Anfisa hesitated, glancing at her husband. “No, Iryna. Your father and I...we’re better at negotiating business together. As a team,” she explained. 

“But Mama, I can’t--” Iryna began. 

Dmitry knelt down beside Anfisa and pulled his eldest in for a hug. “You are brave, Irinushka, and you are strong. We know you can protect Vanya and Natalya,” he said, gently. 

Iryna closed her eyes and buried her face in her father’s shirt. “Papa, what’s going to happen?” 

Before Dmitry could comfort his daughter, they heard the sound of a car door slamming shut outside, followed by a loud, harsh voice. Quickly, both Anfisa and Dmitry ushered their children to the back door, putting on their coats and boots. They quietly opened the door and with three more kisses on each forehead, hesitated. 

“We love you very much,” Anfisa said, holding back her tears. “We will see you three...very soon. But you have to run.” 

“Why are we running?” Ivan asked. 

“I said I wanna sleep!” Natayla hissed. 

Anfisa and Dmitry looked to Iryna before stepping back into the house and closing the door. The three of them stood still, in the cold, shivering in the wind. Eventually, Iryna turned around, picked up her sister, and with her free hand, dragged Ivan as she began walking through the thick snow. 

“Put me down.” Natalya growled lowly.

“We have to walk, Natalya,” Iryna replied, softly. “You can sleep while I carry you.” 

“Put me down,” she repeated, raising her voice a little. 

Not wanting a fight and to bring unwanted attention towards them, Iryna obliged. It would have been easier to carry Natalya to their uncle’s house, but of course, Natalya didn’t make things easy for anyone. Linking her arm with Ivan, Iryna told him to do the same with Natalya. 

“Do I _ have _ to?” Ivan complained. 

“_ Yes _,” Iryna answered sternly. It was the only way she could think of them sticking together. If they linked arms with each other, neither of them would get lost. 

Once the three of them were arm in arm, Iryna led them through the field that separated their house from their uncle’s. Every now and again, Iryna would look over her shoulder to check on her siblings, making sure they were keeping up. 

Soon, they were stepping on the porch of their uncle’s house. Iryna knocked on the door and very quickly, the door swung opened and their uncle Sergey greeted them with a sad smile. 

“You made it,” he said, sadly. “Come in, come in. It’s cold out and I have the fire going,” As Iryna and Ivan stepped inside, Uncle Sergey frowned. “Where’s Natalya?” 

Turning around, Iryna saw the empty space behind her brother where Natalya should have been wide-eyed. “Ivan, _ where’s _Natalya?” Iryna repeated. 

Ivan shrugged. “I don’t know.” 

He began walking to the staircase, hoping to find a bed to sleep, but Iryna pulled him back. “Ivan! You were supposed to hold onto Natalya’s hand!” 

“_ She’s _ the one who let go!” Ivan defended himself. 

Iryna shook her head. “I doubt that; you know how obsessive she is of you! _ You _pushed her away, didn’t you?” 

“Fine, maybe I didn’t say anything! But I didn’t think she’d get lost!” 

“She’s _ little _, Ivan!! She can’t keep up…” Tears of frustration and worry began welling up in Iryna’s eyes as she bit down on her lip. Natalya was a handful, for sure, but she didn’t deserve to be left behind in the cold. 

“You two go upstairs and try to get some rest,” Uncle Sergey said, putting on his coat and scarf. “I’ll go look for Natalya.” 

“No!” Iryna shouted. “Mama and Papa told me to keep Ivan and Natalya safe. I’ll go back for her.” 

“Your nose and cheeks are so red, Iryna. If you go back out there, you’ll get frostbite, for certain. Stay here and get some rest.” Sergey reiterated. 

Iryna shook her head. Her uncle had a bad hip, and if he were to try to trudge through the snow, he’d have a hard time keeping up a quick pace. “I’ll be faster, uncle. B-besides, Natalya is more likely to listen to me!” she argued. “Please, let me go find her!” 

“Iryna, no, you need to stay here where it’s saf--” 

Before her uncle could stop her, Iryna ran out of the door as fast as she could. Her uncle called after her, but there was no stopping her; she would find her sister and drag her if she had to. 

But, when Iryna reached halfway through the field, Natalya was nowhere to be found. “Natalya, where are you?” Iryna muttered to herself. She spun around in a circle, trying to think. Natalya wouldn’t have gone back to the house, would she? Even _ after _she was told that it was dangerous? 

Iryna sighed; Natalya _ would _do exactly that. There were tiny footprints in the snow to prove it. 

Gathering up her courage, Iryna followed the footsteps back to her home, praying that her little sister would be just outside of the house. As she approached the back door, there was a loud, distinguishable sound of a gunshot. Iryna quickly fell to the ground and put her hands over her head to protect herself. Breathing heavily, Iryna flinched as she heard a second gunshot and waited for a third. 

Except, it never came. 

Soon the cold from lying in the snow became too much to bear, forcing Iryna to stand up and creep up to the door. She put her ear up against the door to listen carefully. Feeling that the coast was clear, she slowly opened the door and stepped inside. Making her way to the kitchen, there was a loud banging sound as if someone had fallen down the steps. Iryna froze, listening closely for any other movement in the house. 

It was silent. 

Iryna let out a sigh as she made her way further into the quiet house, finding a tall man lying down at the bottom of the staircase. There was a stab wound in his inner thigh. His head was twisted in a strange, unnatural way. His eyes looked straight at Iryna, but he did not seem to be _ looking _ at her. 

“H-hello?” Iryna whispered. She reached to touch him, but immediately pulled away out of fear. Upon a closer look, Iryna could tell that the man wasn’t Andrey; he must have been a friend or a “worker” of Andrey’s. The man never moved. 

“M-mama? Papa? N-Natalya?” She carefully walked up the stairs, trying to avoid the spots she knew would creak. At the top of the stairs, she turned to the right and found her parents’ bedroom door ajar. “Mama? Papa?” 

Nothing could prepare Iryna for the horror that greeted her. 

Her mother lay still on the bed, flat on her back, with the skirt of her dress lifted up over her stomach, underwear resting at her ankles. A gunshot wound sat square and center of her forehead, with blood staining her pillow. Her eyes were still wide open, staring up at the ceiling, fear lingering in her gaze. 

Iryna nearly fainted from the horrible sight. She covered her mouth to not let out a scream as she approached her mother’s body. “Mama?” she whispered. She gently touched her mother’s arm, shaking it. She knew that the mother she knew was gone, but deep down, she hoped for her to wake up. “Mama, please, wake up.” Iryna repeated. After a few moments, tears quickly began to race down her cheeks. “Mama, Mama, please,” she pleaded. “Wake up.” 

Something then caught Iryna’s eye; there was another figure in the room, sitting up against the wall. It was her father. His right hand was chained to the radiator, he had been forced to watch the cruel fate his wife had endured. Blood was splattered behind him as he had shared a similar gunshot wound to the head. 

Filled with grief and sorrow, Iryna ran to her father’s dead body, shaking. “Papa! Papa!!” she screamed. There was no reply. She knelt beside him and lifted up his face. Warmth still lingered in his body, but it was fading fast. Her father’s face was still damp from his own tears. 

“Papa, no…” Iryna’s tears could not be held back any longer; her sadness enveloped her and she no longer could hold back her sadness. She wasn’t aware that her sobbing morphed into wailing. Being persistent, she continued to try to wake her father up, but it was to no avail. There was nothing she could do to bring her parents back. 

They were gone. Gone forever. 

In the moment, Iryna completely forgot that she had been looking for her sister. Her own wailing drowned out the sound of incoming sirens, she didn’t hear the police barging into her house and charging up the stairs. She didn’t hear them approaching her and asking her to step aside. She clung to her father’s corpse, pleading to whatever entity that lived above to bring her parents back. 

“Miss,” the police officer standing behind her said, calmly. “We need you to step away from the body.” 

“No, no, no, no,” Iryna cried out. All of her being was shaking, her cries could not be tamed. 

“Miss, we need you to--” the officer began. 

“No, no, no!!” she screamed. 

“Miss, you have to step away from him.” 

“No!!!” 

It took some coercion, but Iryna soon let the officers pull her away from her father and was taken outside. The officer had to carry her as she was too shaken to walk by herself. As she was set back down, she saw that they had already taken the mysterious man out of the house and covered him up with a black blanket. 

“Iryna!!” She heard her uncle calling for her. Turning around, she saw him and Ivan rushing towards her. 

“You’re okay, I’m so glad that you’re okay,” Uncle Sergey stated. “What happened? Where’s Natalya?” 

Iryna didn’t have the strength to reply. Her sorrow overwhelmed her as she began crying again. “I don’t know…” she whimpered. She collapsed; fortunately, her uncle caught her. “I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know…” 

Uncle Sergey didn’t ask anymore questions. Instead, he pulled Iryna close and comforted her. Watching as the ambulance soon arrived and the paramedics pulled out two more bodies, he soon pulled Ivan while he wasn’t paying attention into the embrace, making sure that he couldn’t see the scene. 

The three of them remained still as Iryna eventually calmed down, waiting patiently for someone to come and give them more information. 

“JESUS CHRIST!!!” 

From the loud scream inside the house, Iryna turned around to see the action. Suddenly, a police officer ran out of the house, holding his hand. It was bleeding heavily. 

“Why the _ fuck _ does a little girl have a knife in there?!?!” the officer shouted. 

“What?” his colleague replied, confused. 

“There’s a little girl in there with a fucking _ knife _ in there!” he repeated. “This place is a fucking nightmare!!!” 

“What do you mean there’s a little girl with a knife in there??” 

Soon, everyone turned and saw that Natalya was standing in the doorway, with a scowl on her face and, sure enough, a chef’s knife in her hand. Iryna gawked, dumbfounded that her younger sister just simply stood there. She was completely unharmed, though her hair was disheveled and there were small blood stains all over her pajamas; she was seemingly unaware of all that had happened. 

“Uh, why _ does _she have a knife?” the second officer asked. 

“I _ don’t know _. I was checking the other rooms to make sure everything was clear and she was in the one room, sleeping. I went to wake her up and she did, but not without nearly slicing my hand off!” 

“Well, I guess we know how that hitman died.” 

Cautiously, Iryna approached her sister. “Natalya, are you okay?” she asked. 

Natalya turned to her. “Too noisy,” she mumbled. 

“What?” 

“Too! Noisy!” 

Iryna took two steps back and gulped. “Natayla, it’s me. Iryna.” 

“I have eyes. I can _ see _,” Natalya hissed. 

“Natalya, put the knife down,” Iryna said, gently. 

“No.” 

“Please? You’re safe now, you don’t need the knife.”

“No.” 

Hesitant, Iryna looked over her shoulder at her uncle and brother. She knew Natalya wouldn’t listen to _ her _, but maybe she’d listen to someone else. “Vanya,” Iryna called. “Come over here, please?” 

“I think I’m okay over here,” Ivan replied. “I don’t want to get stabbed.” 

“Vanya, _ please _. She’ll listen to you!” 

Reluctantly, Ivan walked over to stand beside Iryna, hands in his pockets. “Natalya, put the kn--” he began. 

Before he could finish, Natalya dropped the knife immediately and jumped off of the stoop, tackling her brother. Iryna sighed, as the encounter was normal for her siblings. As the police led them to the cars and took them to the station, Iryna stared out the window silently, still in shock.

Iryna stepped out of the interrogation room and was led to a bench sitting in the waiting room. The police insisted that her siblings be asked questions as well, even though Ivan hadn’t witnessed anything and Natalya, well, most likely wouldn’t talk. She was tired and wanted to go to sleep, but every time she drifted off, images of the night flashed before her eyes. 

Ivan stepped out soon after, yawning. He sat beside his sister and rested his head against her shoulder, falling asleep rather quickly. Natalya joined them eventually, accompanied by a police officer and someone else. As Natalya took a seat (right next to Ivan, of course), the other person looked straight to Iryna. 

“Iryna, is it?” she asked. 

Iryna answered with a nod; she was too tired to speak, not to mention her voice was too hoarse from screaming. 

The woman knelt down beside Iryna to talk to her. “I’m sorry to hear about your parents, Iryna,” she said. 

Iryna didn’t know how to reply. 

“I know you must be tired,” she continued. “But I was contacted to take you and your siblings to my place. There are lots of other children there…”

“Is it an orphanage?” Iryna asked, quietly. 

The woman hesitated. “Yes.” 

“Can’t we stay with our uncle?” Iryna added. 

“He’s not fit to take care of you,” the woman mentioned. “Preferably, children should grow up with a married couple. Your uncle isn’t married, correct?” 

Iryna shrugged; she didn’t know much about her uncle’s personal life other than he loved his vodka. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t tell you my name,” the woman added. “I’m Anna.” She paused. “Do you and your siblings like hot cocoa?” 

Again, Iryna answered with a nod. 

“Would you like to come with me? We can have our hot cocoa and sleep at my place. Would you like that?” Anna suggested. 

“Okay.” Iryna replied. It wasn’t like she had a choice. 

Anna smiled and stood up. Both Ivan and Natalya were asleep, so Anna, very carefully, picked up Natalya to carry her outside. Miraculously, Natalya didn’t wake up. Iryna gently woke her brother and led him outside though he was half awake. They got into a taxi and were taken to the orphanage that Anna looked after. 

As they entered the orphanage, Iryna was impressed that as Anna carried her, Natalya still didn’t wake up. _ She must be as exhausted as I am. _ She thought to herself. That, or Anna worked with so many troublesome kids, she knew how to keep them quiet. They climbed a few flights of stairs to reach one of the large rooms where all of the children slept. 

“I only have one bed available. I’m sorry, you three will have to share a bed.” Anna explained, gently placing Natalya down on the bed. Ivan climbed next to his sister, shoving his face in the pillow and passing out.

“It’s fine,” Iryna muttered. “We shared a bed at home.” 

Anna nodded. “If you need anything, my room is on the first floor,” she said, making her way to the door. “We’ll fill out your papers in the morning. Get some rest, Iryna.” 

“Okay.” 

The door closed and the room suddenly became dark. Unsure if she could sleep soundly next to her siblings, Iryna sat down on the floor, resting her head against the bed. Tears began racing down her face again and she covered her mouth, attempting to muffle her cries. 

“It’s all my fault,” she whispered. “It’s all my fault.” 

Her crying continued for another hour until she eventually fell asleep on the floor from exhaustion. 

_ Two months later _

“You _ can’t _ separate us!” 

Sitting in Anna’s clustered office, Iryna gripped the skirt of her dress in an attempt to smother her anger. “We’re a family, and families stick together!” 

Anna hesitated. “Iryna, it would be good for your sister to have a new family of her own.” she said, gently. 

“Why?! We’re a perfectly good family!!” Iryna protested. 

Anna looked at her with sympathy. “Iryna, do you know how _ sick _ your sister is? She’s mentally… _ disturbed _, to say the least.” 

“She’s always been that way. That’s just how she is!” 

“But that doesn’t make it _ okay _for her to be that way,” Anna paused. “I promise Mr. and Mrs. Arlovsky will take good care of Natalya.” 

Iryna bit her lip and wiped her tears of frustration away. “If they want her, they have to take me and Vanya too!” 

“They can only adopt one child, Iryna,” Anna sighed. “It will be good for Natalya. Mr. Arlovsky is a politician; he makes good money. He will be able to make sure Natalya gets the help she needs.” 

“If he’s so rich, then he can afford to take two other children!” Iryna clenched her fists and kept her head down; she hated that nearly every emotion she had resulted in tears. She had always been sensitive and emotional, but after her parents’ murder, she lost control of her emotions entirely. “How do they even know about her? Why do they want _ her _ ? Of all the good children in this place, why _ her _?!” 

Anna took a deep breath. “I put your sister on an ‘Urgent’ list. Because of her age and her mental state and all that she has witnessed, it would be a detriment for her to stay in an orphanage for a substantial amount of time.” 

“But it’s okay for Vanya and I to stay here?” Iryna snapped. “Or anyone else in here, for that matter!” 

“It’s not that simple, Iryna. Some children need...more attention than others.” Anna defended. “I will do everything I can to suggest that the Arlovsky family keeps in contact with you and Vanya, wherever the two of you end up. But I cannot promise they will listen to me.” 

Iryna hesitated on her next question. “Will you separate Vanya and I too?” 

Before Anna could answer, there was a knock on the door. “Come in!” she answered, the tone of her voice changing immediately. 

A man and a woman stepped into the room, closing the door behind them. “Miss Anna, I presume?” the man asked. 

Anna stood up. “Yes,” She shook his hand. “It’s so good to finally meet you, Anton and Anastasia.” 

As the three adults continued to exchange pleasantries, Iryna took a moment to get a good judgement of Natalya’s new parents. Anton Arlovsky looked as he was in his mid thirties, or perhaps his early forties. He was rather plain looking and seemed to have a kind heart; a rare feature in politicians. 

On the other hand, Anastasia Arlovskaya was pretty, well, in the shallow definition sense. It was clear that she had a lot of plastic surgery done to her face, which from far away and with makeup applied, made her look incredibly beautiful. But up close, her face looked twisted and swollen. 

From her first judgement, Iryna wasn’t sure about these two “parents.” 

“Iryna, would you go find Natalya for me?” Anna asked. 

Nodding, Iryna stepped out of the room, defeated. She had a sinking feeling that Anna hadn’t told Anton and Anastasia that she was Natalya’s older sister. Anna probably hadn’t even mentioned that Natayla had siblings also waiting to be adopted. 

Stepping outside where all of the kids were playing, Iryna looked above everyone’s heads to try to find her sister. She was small, which made it _ very _difficult. She then pushed her way through the hundreds of kids on the crowded pavement, stopping when she found her brother. 

“Vanya, have you seen Natalya anywhere?” she asked. 

Ivan turned around, covering his right eye. “She keeps chasing my friends away,” he replied. 

“Why are you covering your eye like that?” Iryna asked. 

Ivan hesitated. “The sun is hurting it.” 

Iryna frowned. She could see it was already bruised. “What happened now?” 

“Boris--” Ivan began, but he didn’t need to go any further. It didn’t matter that they were out of school, away from the usual bullies, Ivan still managed to get picked on at the orphanage. 

“So, let me guess,” Iryna interrupted. “Natalya saw and chased him away?” 

Ivan nodded. “It’s _ embarrassing _ . She’s making it worse. Boris keeps saying ‘what? You need your baby sister to fight your battles for you?’” Ivan paused, letting his arm fall to his side, revealing the shiner on his eye. “Can you make her _ stop _ ? Please? It’s so _ embarrassing _.” 

Iryna took a deep breath; she didn’t have the heart to tell him the news yet. “I’ll try,” she muttered. “Tell me where they ran off to.” 

Ivan pointed to one of the corners of the building where most of the “bad kids” hid. Iryna shook her head and braced herself for whatever she might see. Sure enough, as she rounded the corner, she found her sister standing over one of the kids with a rock in her hand. The other bullies stood in the corner, clinging to each other in fear of what a kid smaller than them would do.

“Natalya, stop scaring people,” Iryna said, standing next to her younger sister. 

“Your sister is fucking crazy!!” Boris hollered. He pushed Natalya away from him and stood up, revealing the bloodied cut atop his forehead from the rock she had used to hit him. 

Guiding Natalya away from the group of bullies and disarming her, Iryna sighed. “Tell me something I _ don’t _know.” Taking her sister’s hand, Iryna began to drag her sister back inside. 

“I wasn’t done!” Natalya hissed. 

“Miss Anna wants to see you,” Iryna mumbled. 

“Why? I didn’t do anything.” 

“Be good,” Iryna hushed. “Just be good.” She knocked on Anna’s door and entered the room without waiting for a response. Anton and Anastasia stood up and greeted Natalya with smiles. 

“Oh, look how cute she is!” Anastasia mentioned. Anastasia knelt down beside Natalya and reached to touch her hair. “We can put you in a lovely dress with a little bow and--” 

Natalya grabbed Anastasia’s wrist and scowled. “Don’t touch me.” 

Anastasia quickly pulled her hand back and frowned. “I-I’m sorry, I suppose I should have asked first.” 

“What’s wrong with your face?” Natalya then asked. 

“Natalya--” Iryna began. 

“It looks like you got stung by bees.” Natalya concluded. 

Anastasia looked to her husband with worry, touching her face. “I’m beautiful, right?” she asked, demandingly. 

“U-uh, yes. You’re gorgeous.” Anton replied. His answer was filled with uncertainty as he smiled nervously. 

Anna came around from her desk and put on her best smile. “Natalya, Mr. and Mrs. Arlovsky are going to be your new parents.” she explained. 

“I didn’t ask for new ones.” Natalya said rather bluntly. 

Anna took a deep breath. “I know, but, they have a lovely home where you can grow up happy.” 

Natalya turned to her sister, looking at her skeptically. “Why isn’t Vanya here too? Shouldn’t he be here if we’re leaving?” 

“Oh sweetie,” Anastasia interjected. “We’re only taking you home. Your friends stay here.” 

Natalya made a face. “Vanya is my _ brother _ and Iryna is my _ sister _.” 

Anastasia shrugged. “Regardless, they stay here.” 

Natalya took a step back and shook her head. “No, I’m staying with them.” 

“We can’t take them with us, Natalya. We only have room for you.” Anton chimed in. “You’ll have your own room, your own toys--”

“I don’t want that!” Natalya hissed. She turned to her sister and for the first time, Iryna could actually see that Natalya was visibly upset. She grabbed Iryna’s arm and shook it. “Tell them! Tell them I don’t want to go!” 

“P-please consider adopting Ivan and I too. We’re good, we promise.” Iryna stammered. 

Anton looked at her with empathy. “Well, we can clean a few more rooms and--” 

“We don’t have room for three children,” Anastasia said coldly to her husband. She turned and smiled at Natalya. “I’m sure you’ll come to like being by yourself, Natalya. It’s quiet and fun.” 

Natalya thought for a moment. “You have to take me and Vanya.” 

Iryna sighed; it was to be expected that Natalya would choose Ivan over her sister. It was expected, but it didn’t make it sting any less. 

“We don’t have room,” Anastasia repeated. “We’ve painted your room, filled it with toys and dolls and--” 

“She _ hates _dolls,” Iryna mentioned, remembering all of Iryna’s old dismembered dolls Natalya had destroyed back at home. When Anastasia glared at her, Iryna took a deep breath. “She’s not interested in pretty things.” 

“Then what does she like?” Anton asked. Iryna appreciated that he was trying to be sympathetic to the whole situation and listen. 

Iryna hesitated; she knew she couldn’t be completely honest with them, or they wouldn’t adopt Natalya. If they knew Natalya loved destroying toys and swearing at the top of her lungs, they’d reject her. And even Iryna knew rejection was something Natalya _ didn’t _need.

“She entertains herself,” Iryna said. 

Anastasia made a face. “I’ll have to fix that, then. Every girl likes pretty things,” she said, standing up. 

“So, should we sign the papers and make it official?” Anna asked, opening a file cabinet. 

“No!!” Natalya blurted. 

“Of course,” Anastasia answered, pulling out a pen from her handbag. As both of them sat down to sign the official papers, Natalya looked to her older sister, wide-eyed. 

“I don’t wanna go with that ugly lady! Tell them! Do something!” she pleaded. 

Iryna gulped. “I _ can’t _. I’ve tried.”

Natalya scowled and sucked her teeth. “_ Useless _ ,” she hissed. As Mr. Arlovsky was about to put down his signature, Natalya shouted: “Пиздец!!” Quickly, both Anton and Anastasia turned around to look at her. “_Пиздец_!!” Natalya repeated, hoping that swearing would be enough to deter the couple away. 

Anastasia looked to Iryna for answers. “She...um...does that?” Iryna mumbled. 

“_Пиздец_!!” Natalya repeated. 

“Well, I guess we don’t have to worry about censoring our language around her,” Anastasia concluded, shrugging. She didn’t seem bothered at all; in fact, she seemed somewhat relieved. “We’ll just teach her to watch her tongue in proper situations.” 

Anton hesitated. “Iryna, was it?” he asked. “Is there anything else we should be concerned about for your sister?” 

“She knows a lot more swear words than you think?” Iryna answered. 

“Anything else?” 

Iryna shook her head. “N-no?” she lied. 

“Stop stalling and sign the damn form already, Anton,” Anastasia hissed. “You’ve procrastinated on us adopting a kid for long enough.” 

“Because I’m not sure our lifestyle is best for a--”

“We’d get a lot more people on our side if we are a _ family _ instead of just the two of us,” Anastasia scoffed. “It’s like you _ don’t _want to succeed or something. Sign the paper.” 

Defeated, Anton did not argue with his wife as he quickly signed the form. And just like that, Natalya had a new family. 

Anna smiled and neatly placed the forms in a folder. “Wonderful! Natalya, you are now ‘Natalya Arlovskaya.’” 

“_ Braginskaya _.” Natalya corrected. 

“No, Arlovs--” 

“_ Braginskaya. _” 

Anna quickly gave up. “Iryna, can you take Natalya to go gather her things?” 

With a nod, Iryna obliged and took her sister’s hand; there was nothing else she could do except say goodbye. 

_ Present Day _

“After Natalya was adopted, I knew it was inevitable that Vanya and I would be separated too,” Iryna explained. “Saying goodbye to Natalya was difficult, for me at least, but it was even harder to say goodbye to Vanya.” 

“How quickly was he adopted?” Eduard asked. 

“Ivan was adopted a couple of months after Natalya.” 

Eduard bit his lip, hesitating. “And when were you adopted?” 

Iryna took a deep breath. “Two years later,” She leaned against the table on her elbow. “People don’t want to adopt nine, ten or eleven year olds. They want cute, little kids.” She paused again. “I was one of the lucky ones; most older children sit in the orphanage until their eighteenth birthday.” 

“What was your adoptive family like?” Eduard asked, hoping to lighten the mood. 

“Small,” Iryna answered, gently. “Just me and my adoptive parents.” 

“Was your name changed then to Sofia?” 

Iryna nodded. “They were very protective of me, for which I’m very thankful for. I didn’t understand at the time when I was younger. But when I got older, I found out what a dangerous man Andrey was. He knew my name specifically, and knew I was part of the reason why he was arrested. He’d be looking for me. My adoptive parents knew that changing my name would make it harder for him to find me.” 

The room went silent for a moment, just long enough for Eduard to notice that Raivis, with his head resting on the table, was snoring faintly. “And you had a good life after being adopted?” Eduard then questioned. 

Iryna nodded. “For the most part. Graduated high school, went to university, got a Bachelor and a Master’s degree, married twice--” 

“Twice?” Eduard blurted. “Aren’t you only--”

“Twenty-eight, yes,” Iryna laughed nervously. “I can be rather foolish and too loving.” 

“What happened, if you don’t mind me asking?” 

“Not at all; my first marriage only lasted a year. My first husband drank himself to death.” Iryna stated calmly. 

“Oh n--” Eduard started. 

“My second marriage was tumultuous. I met a guy not too long after my first husband died, ignored all of the red flags and got married too quickly. You know how loneliness is...”

“Are you still together?” 

Iryna shook her head. “Things...weren’t good,” she said, implying dire situations. “After a long court case, I divorced him and have been on my own ever since.” She smiled. “Being alone is probably for the best.” 

Iryna’s words saddened Eduard. How could such a kind, beautiful woman be treated so horribly? She deserved better, the world, even. “Thank you for trusting us enough to tell us your story,” Eduard began. “It really helps put some pieces together.” 

“I’m sure,” Iryna replied. “It helps explain why Ivan is the way that he is now, I can only assume. Though, I’m sure I didn’t prove his innocence. I only know what I remember from when we were children.” 

“No, but,” Eduard said, hesitant. “I’m sorry, Natayla was always..._ trouble _, wasn’t she?” 

Iryna nodded. “Yes, that’s just her nature.” she said, shrugging and not thinking much of it.

An excuse that seemed all too familiar. “You know nothing of her life in Minsk, then?” 

“She told me nothing when I saw her,” Iryna leaned back in her chair. “I can only hope that she had a good childhood in the Arlovsky household.” 

_ What if she didn’t get the help she needed, though? _ Eduard asked himself. _ What if-- _

“Oh goodness! I didn’t realize how late it is!” Iryna exclaimed, looking at Raivis who was asleep with his head resting on the table. “I’m so sorry, there’s a guest room upstairs. There’s only one bed, though.” 

“He can have it,” Eduard replied. “I think I’m going to stay up a little longer and do some research.” 

“Are you sure?” Iryna asked, concerned. 

“Yes, I have no problems sleeping on the couch.” 

“I’d be such a terrible host if I let you do that.” Iryna stood up. “I think I have a clean set of sheets; I can switch them out and let you sleep in my bed while I sleep down here.” 

Eduard quickly stood up to refuse. “No, no! The couch is fine!” 

“But--” Iryna started.

Eduard gently put his hands on Iryna’s shoulders and smiled. “Really, it’s fine.” 

Iryna thought carefully for a moment before responding. “Are you _ sure _?” 

“Positive.” 

Relenting, she sighed. “Okay.” She gently placed a hand on Raivis’ shoulder and leaned down. “Raivis? I’m sorry to wake you, but I just wanted to show you the guest room so you can sleep comfortably.” Eduard could hear her sweet “teacher’s voice” as she spoke to Raivis calmly, gently waking him up. 

“Huh?” Raivis groaned. As he sat up, a droplet of drool fell from his chin and landed in a puddle on the table. Iryna gently repeated herself as Raivis drowsily listened. “Uh-huh, okay.” He then followed her upstairs as Eduard laid down on the couch, pulling out his phone. It was only on 49% battery, which wouldn’t allow for much research to be done. 

He had to try anyway. 

Eventually, Iryna came downstairs, carrying a pillow and a blanket. She set them down beside Eduard’s feet and with an endearing smile, she made her way back upstairs. Eduard sighed admiringly at her and cracked his knuckles. 

“Alright, Natalya,” he muttered to himself. “What are you hiding?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi. 
> 
> I told you it was intense and violent. But, we have some more clues, don't we? 
> 
> I would translate a lot of the swear words Natalya said, but a lot of them are pretty much variants of "fuck" or "fucking shit." But, here are some other words that appeared throughout the chapter that you may not know:
> 
> Блин - "Blin," a pancake. From pictures that I have seen, a blin is thinner than a pancake but thicker than a crêpe? That's what it looks like to me. Saying "blin" is a substitute for "blyat" to make it appear that you're not swearing but you are, it's just PG rated. We do the same thing in English; you know, instead of saying "motherfucker that hurt like hell" you say "mothertrucker dude, that hurt like a buttcheek on a stick." 
> 
> Божe - "Bozhe," God; basically "Oh my God," or "Good Lord." 
> 
> Thank you for coming to my TED talk about basic Russian. That's LITERALLY all I know. If my translations are mistaken, please, please, please, PLEASE correct me!!!!! 
> 
> Also, I do realize that there are SO MANY NAMES that begin with an "A." I was gonna change it, but then I kinda thought it was funny so I went with it. I hope you guys enjoyed your two chapter updates!! Even if the chapters are intense. The next update will be around February 22! Until then! 
> 
> -Katelyn (violinia)


	15. Homebound

“It was so good to see you!” Feliciano said, hugging Feliks. The two friends were hugging extra tightly in the middle of the airport; goodbyes were always hard. Feliciano pulled away and moved to give Tolys a hug. “And it was good to meet you, Tolys.” 

“Likewise,” Tolys said, patting Feliciano's back and pulling away.

“Thank you for having me perform at your bar!” Feliks said, happily. “Call me back anytime!” 

“Of course!” Feliciano replied, grinning. “Well, I won’t keep you two here any longer; don’t want you getting caught up in security and then rushing to your terminal.” 

“Okay, okay,” Feliks sighed, walking away. However, he quickly turned back around to give Feliciano a final hug before joining Tolys at the security gate. “I’m gonna miss this place.” he then mentioned, linking his arm with Tolys. 

“Me too,” Tolys agreed, setting his carry on bag on the security conveyor belt. He and Feliks both were dreading returning back to their life in Warsaw, especially with the finalization of Ivan taking over the bar and with the impending doom of Tolys breaking up with Natalya. It all sucked as both Tolys and Feliks felt they could let loose and be themselves in London. 

Life wasn’t fair. 

Once they were through security, they had a few minutes to spare and wandered around the duty free stores before boarding their plane. Tolys picked up a couple of books that he would only skim through while on the plane. Meanwhile, Feliks (somehow) managed to find a pack of scrunchies and insisted putting one in his and in Tolys’ hair. 

“You’re sure you don’t want anything else?” Tolys asked, scanning around the store. As they stood in line, Tolys scanned the store that was filled with various amounts of stuff, and it was silly that Feliks just wanted brightly colored  _ scrunchies _ . 

Feliks looked to the shelf to his right and picked up a chocolate bar. “Wanna split this?” he asked. 

“Sure.” 

They made their purchases and on their way to the plane, Feliks wrangled with his hair to put a scrunchy in his hair. 

“I think your hair might be too short,” Tolys mentioned. 

“No, no, I got it,” Feliks said, finally letting his arms fall to his sides. It wasn’t the cleanest ponytail, but at least he had been successful. “It’s been so long since I tied my hair back.” He turned to Tolys and grinned. “Your turn!” 

“I don’t think scrunchies will look good on me.” Tolys said, laughing. 

“Scrunchies look good on everybody,” Feliks said, pulling off two smaller ones. “I think two small ponytails will look  _ cute _ on you.” 

“But--” 

“Please? Just for two minutes?” Feliks begged. 

Tolys smiled. “Alright.” 

As quick as he could, Feliks put the two scrunchies in Tolys’ hair, and grinned happily at his work. “See! You’re adorable!” he cheered. 

Tolys unlocked his phone and looked at himself using the camera. “Not necessarily a look I want as a 25 year old, but I can see the appeal.” he stated. 

Feliks leaned on Tolys’ shoulder to get his face into the shot. He gasped. “Oh my God, these looks are so 2000! Quick! Let’s take a picture!” 

Feliks struck a pose while Tolys stared at him, confused. “What?” When Feliks appeared to be frozen in his pose, Tolys made a funny face before snapping the picture. They looked at the result of the picture, laughed, and took several more. 

“Now boarding Flight 257 to Warsaw.” A voice on the intercom announced. 

And just like that, their fun vanished quickly as they were reminded that they were going home. Feliks sighed as he stood up. “Back into hiding, I guess,” he mumbled. 

“Hey,” Tolys called after him, gently taking his wrist. “We’ll figure this out, okay? I promise.” 

Feliks intertwined his fingers with Tolys’ and smiled sadly. “I know, it’s just,” he mumbled. “Do we  _ have  _ to go back? It's…nerve wracking to think about.” 

Tolys looked to Feliks in confusion; when was he,  _ Feliks Łukasiewicz _ , nervous? He was always the one calming Tolys down. “Well, yes, it is a little scary,” Tolys replied. “But, honesty is always the best route to go and we’ll just confess everything to Natalya.” 

Feliks looked at him skeptically. “I don’t think we should tell her about...us sleeping together.” 

“Why not? She deserves to know the truth.” 

“I don’t think Natalya is as open minded as you  _ think  _ she is. Remember the whole dress situation a while back? If looks could kill…” 

Tolys shook his head. “I can’t just... _ lie  _ to her.” 

“I’m not asking you to lie,” Feliks said. “Just don’t tell her we’ve been sleeping together. Trust me, I’ve been in this game a lot longer than you have. I know how people are back home.” 

“But--” 

“Is us sleeping together the  _ only  _ reason why you want to break up with her?” 

Tolys went quiet; him and Feliks having sex wasn’t the  _ only  _ reason, there were plenty of others. Yes, he and Feliks definitely had feelings for each other. Yes, Tolys wanted to explore those feelings and wanted to be with Feliks. But Feliks wasn’t the only part of the equation. There was also Natalya’s belittling, verbal abuse, and anger that made Tolys want to leave. It was clear that she was just using him for whatever game she played, and Tolys wanted no part of it anymore. 

“It’ll be better if you just say that it’s not working out anymore,” Feliks added. 

“Yeah, but she’ll argue with me to make me think otherwise. She’ll convince me to confess the whole story and stay with her.” 

“Last call for Flight 257, London to Warsaw,” the announcer called. 

“Well, we do have a whole flight to figure out the kinks,” Feliks said, gently tugging on Tolys’ hand. “But we better hurry, or we’ll miss our plane.” 

“Good point,” Tolys agreed, grabbing his carryon bag. They hurried through the gate and scooted their way through the aisles towards their seats. Sitting next to the window, Tolys caught a glimpse of himself and Feliks with their scrunchies in their hair and chuckled. “We look goofy,” he stated, pointing to their reflection. 

Feliks looked and smirked. “I think we look fabulous.” 

Tolys put his arm around Feliks and poked his nose. “Yeah, we do.” 

Natalya Arlovskaya turned out to be much more suspicious than Eduard could have imagined. 

Yes, Natayla Arlovskaya, born as Natalya Dmitrievna Braginskaya, had managed to hide a lot of her past, much like her siblings. After her adoption in April 1998, she seemed to put her new parents through hell.

It all started with an incredibly rocky relationship with her adoptive mother, Anastasia Arlovskaya. 

From the very beginning, it was clear that Anastasia and Anton adopted Natalya to help their public image. After all, politicians looked a hell of a lot better if they had a loving family that supported them. Neither of them  _ really _ wanted to be parents, particularly Anastasia. 

Apparently, Anastasia, had a little dog that she loved very much. She loved the dog more than the child she and her husband adopted. Naturally sensing that the dog was loved more than her, Natalya hated this dog, and would do all kinds of things to terrify it. Chase it. Throw things at it. Scream at it. Anything that hurt the dog made her laugh. Terrifying that dog became her favorite game.

One day, her “games” got out of hand, and the dog died. 

Anastasia never forgave Natayla for it, and claimed that Natalya had killed her dog on purpose. Anton said that Natalya was  _ just _ a child, there was no way she could have done it.

Afterall, children don’t  _ kill  _ animals on  _ purpose _ . Right?

Regardless, Natalya’s behavior prevented Anastasia from ever getting another dog, despite wanting to. She feared what her daughter might do to an innocent animal. And so, Anastasia and Natalya  _ never  _ got along. 

There was one particular interview with Anastasia about some “charity” she was starting that had some interesting quotes (without having met her, Eduard just  _ knew _ that Anastasia Arlovskaya  _ never _ cared about the poor and the charity sounded like a sham). The interview proved how she felt about her daughter. At first, she spoke of how she had always dreamed of being a mother to a child in need (again, a bullshit lie to help her public image). But after the adoption, she was taken back by how  _ difficult _ motherhood turned out to be. 

Anastasia stated that there was something  _ wrong _ with Natalya. She spoke about the death of her beloved dog and how she was certain Natalya had something to do with it. She spoke about how Natalya not only stole her jewelry, but stole candies and little toys from public stores. She spoke of Natalya’s anger issues and violent tantrums. She spoke of how she, personally, refused to take Natalya anywhere because of her bad behavior. There was a particular line that stuck out to Eduard as he read the interview over and over:

_ “I wish we could  _ return _ her, but alas, she has no where else to go. Who would want such a child like her? She’s a troubled kid. And so, I must give my sacrifice and raise this troubled child.” _

Despite her behavior at home, Natalya’s behavior at school was much different. She was withdrawn from her peers most of the time, refusing to talk or play with anyone on the playground. Many students reported that she was odd and scary; they felt as if she was always watching them as if she were planning something. Despite her social distance amongst her peers, it was evident that Natalya did well in her academics, proving to be very bright. Some of her teachers had claimed that she was “a pleasure to have in class.” 

By her teenage years, Natalya’s interests turned dark; she had gotten into the Occult, which in it of itself, was not inherently  _ bad _ . After all, Tarot cards and Ouija boards could be harmless. However, Natalya was  _ too _ obsessed with it all. She always joked with the few people who were bold enough to be her friends that she thought sacrifices to the “Dark Lord” would be  _ interesting _ and that it might be fun to  _ kill _ a person. Her friends thought nothing of it until an ex-boyfriend claimed that Natalya had attempted to slit his throat while they were having sex. 

He had told everyone in detail of what had happened; she had pinned him down and held a knife to his throat. At first, he had been into it because he liked that she was dominating. But when she had actually begun to lightly run the blade along his neck and said how “beautiful” it would be if his blood stained the sheets, he quickly pushed her off of him and made a run for it. 

When the story broke out, Natalya naturally denied it.  _ “I  _ obviously _ wasn’t going to do it.”  _ Was her official statement. Her ex-boyfriend and his family had been very vocal about the whole situation for some time, but suddenly were quiet after receiving a large sum of money from the Arlovsky family to keep quiet, for the story gave them a “bad reputation.” 

Soon, the story about Natalya nearly murdering her first boyfriend blew over and Natalya graduated high school with impeccable grades. She then attended university where she was able to obtain a degree in nursing. 

Natalya had  _ quite _ the history; a history that was massively overlooked. Eduard began to wonder if he had been mistaken all along. 

“Good morning!” 

Groggy from lack of sleep, Eduard sat up on the couch while Iryna placed a cup of coffee in his hands. “Good morning,” Eduard croaked. The cup’s warmth felt good against his cold hands.

“Did you sleep okay? I’m sorry if the couch is uncomfortable; it’s old and--” Iryna began to ramble. 

“I slept okay,” Eduard replied, stretching. “Thank you for the coffee.” 

Iryna smiled. “Breakfast will be ready soon,” she added, making her way back to the kitchen. 

Stiff from an uncomfortable sleeping position, Eduard slowly stood up from the couch and cracked his back. Shuffling, he made his way to the kitchen, watching Iryna carefully put the right amount of portions on each plate. “Thank you for letting us sleep here for the night.”

Iryna looked up and smiled. “Oh, no need to thank me for that!” 

“But, we--” 

“It’s fine, Eduard.” Iryna turned her attention back to the plates. “I’m sorry for talking so much last night,” 

“And I’m sorry for asking so many personal questions when we hardly know each other,” Eduard added, scratching the back of his neck. 

Iryna shrugged. “It’s okay, I understand that you’re investigating a very serious situation,” She picked up two plates and faced him. “Now that I think of it, my siblings and I have a bit of a messy past, huh?” 

Eduard stepped aside so Iryna could place the plates on the dining table. “You seem to handle it pretty well.” 

“I didn’t always,” Iryna wiped her hands on her apron. “Did you find anything while you were researching last night?” 

“Some--” Eduard began. 

“What did you find?” 

He hesitated. “Your story brought my attention to your younger sister, and so curiosity got the best of me and I was looking into her past,” Iryna remained silent, waiting for him to continue. “It’s kind of funny, because I’ve known Natalya for quite some time. Probably as long as I’ve known Ivan. She’s dating my best friend and--”

Iryna’s eyes widened. “Wait, she’s  _ dating  _ someone?” She took a deep breath. “Dear God...bless that man…” 

“--For some reason, Natalya seemed to go under my radar. Yes, she’s mean and, well, awful, but she’s never done anything  _ suspicious _ . Or so I thought. And following my research, she seems to be good at hiding evidence.” Eduard finished. 

“She was always good at that, even at five,” Iryna mentioned. She paused. “I  _ did _ mention that she witnessed all of it, right?” 

“All of what?” 

“What happened to our parents,” Iryna rested her hand on the back of the chair, looking away. “I didn’t know fully when I was a kid, but I found most of the information when I was older after looking up the case. She  _ saw  _ my mother being raped by that man, she  _ saw  _ her and our father die. She confessed it to the police that night.” She paused, shaking her head. “I saw the aftermath and was traumatized. I can’t imagine how she must be…”

Eduard hesitated, thinking carefully of his next question. “When you met with her a few years ago, what was she like?” 

Iryna thought for a moment, thinking back. “She was kind, at first. Perhaps I should use the word polite. I felt comfortable around her because she’s my sister, and when she mentioned that she had found Vanya as well, I was happy. We were finally going to be reunited. But then, she threatened me.” 

“Threatened you?” Eduard asked.

"Mm-hm," Iryna nodded. "She told me that if I came between her and Vanya, there'd be consequences."

Eduard pulled out a chair and sat down.  _ Why the hell would Natalya want her sister to stay away? _ He ran his hands through his hair. "What did she mean by consequences?"

Iryna shrugged. "I try not to think of it," 

_ How did I not see this?  _ He thought. What was Natalya's game, here? Who was really in danger around her? 

Tolys.  _ Tolys  _ had to be the one in danger. 

Now that he thought of it, Eduard realized how all of the victims of the Puppeteer vaguely looked like Tolys. Though, quite frankly, it wasn’t hard to find someone who looked similar to Tolys; Tolys had a face that always reminded you of someone. He was plain; attractive, but plain. 

In Natalya’s mind, she must’ve been killing Tolys over and over and over again. She most likely  _ wanted  _ to kill Tolys, but something stopped her from doing so. What was it? What was Eduard missing?

“Should I wake up Raivis? He’ll want breakfast, right?” Iryna asked, breaking Eduard’s thought process. 

“Yeah,” Eduard answered, watching as Iryna went up the steps. She returned after a couple of minutes, Raivis slowly followed behind her. 

“Coffee?” Iryna offered. 

“Um, I’m technically not supposed to have caffeine,” Raivis answered. “It technically makes my anxiety worse,” He paused and bit his lip. “But I’m so tired. I’ll have a  _ tiny  _ bit.” 

Iryna hesitated, but soon poured a very small amount of coffee in a cup and gave it to Raivis. Raivis took a sip and grinned. “Hey, why didn’t anyone tell me this tastes good?” he asked. 

Eduard chuckled. “To keep you away from it,” he said. “Did you sleep well?” 

Raivis nodded, taking another sip of coffee. “You should’ve seen the bedroom up there! There are like a  _ million _ pillows! It’s great!” 

_ Glad someone had a better night’s sleep than me _ . Eduard thought. “So, I have some new findings about the Puppeteer.” he mentioned. 

“Like what?” Raivis asked, eager. 

“Iryna, fortunately for her brother, I think has proved Ivan’s innocence,” 

Raivis waited for a second. “But?” 

“But Natalya raises concerns.” Eduard finished. 

Raivis stifled a laugh. “You mean she didn’t freak you out before?” 

“She did, she definitely did,” Eduard clarified. “But I didn’t realize that she was a potential  _ psychopath _ .” 

“I thought she was a sociopath?” Raivis argued. “Or is there a difference?” 

“There’s  _ definitely  _ a difference. I mean, they’re similar, but they’re different.” Eduard took a quick sip of his coffee before continuing. “For starters, most psychopaths are born while most sociopaths are made. Sociopaths are more likely to form close bonds with people, while psychopaths couldn’t give two shits about  _ anyone _ . Psychopaths are calculating, while sociopaths take risks without thinking it through.” 

“Hm,” Raivis hummed. “She could be either, honestly. She and Ivan  _ are _ pretty close, though.”

“That’s something that’s changed then,” Iryna chimed in, sitting down with her plate. “Ivan always  _ hated  _ being around Natalya.” 

“Yeah, no, she’s always lingering around him. It’s actually kinda weird? Like if I didn’t know better, I’d think she was infatuated with him or something.” Raivis added. 

Iryna laughed nervously again. “Well, um, there was one time when we were kids, she said she wanted to marry him.” 

“She what?” Raivis and Eduard said simultaneously. 

“Yeah, she said she wanted to marry him.  _ A lot _ . But, a lot of little sisters say that to their brothers, don’t they? No big deal, right? It’s just a phase she had to grow out of.” Iryna excused. 

Raivis grimaced. “Uh yeah, if that's true, she definitely didn’t grow out of that phase.” 

Eduard leaned forward. “Since you work for Ivan, you see a lot more stuff than I would. You obviously were concerned about him before we were put on this task; what made you look into his background?” 

“Well,” Raivis fidgeted in his chair and drank his coffee. “My second day on the job, I was helping close up the shop, I walked into his office I guess at the wrong moment. He and Natalya were talking, and both kinda stared at me like I had three heads. I started to introduce myself to Natalya, but she has that scary, icy cold glare, you know? It cuts right through you. She then told me I shouldn't stick my head in things where they don't belong, as if I had done something wrong. Ivan agreed, and sternly told me to just close up shop and go home 'like a good boy.' Ever since, Ivan’s been  _ weird _ around me. Like, extra careful. Clearly, I thought he was hiding something.” 

“And was he?” Iryna asked. 

“Kind of? At the time, all I found out was that he was obsessed with trying to find  _ you _ ,” Raivis said. “I think in his spare time, that’s all he would do. And I think Natalya constantly made sure she made it harder for him to find you, now that I think about it. She was  _ always  _ in his office at his computer when he was helping customers. She was probably deleting his browser history, clearing cookies, looking at what he was researching and all...you know? Trying to be one step ahead of him.” 

Eduard groaned, putting his face in his hands. “I can’t believe it, she was literally  _ everywhere  _ I looked, and I  _ still  _ didn’t suspect her.” 

“Are you sure it’s her, though? I mean, women can’t be serial killers.” Raivis stated. 

“A simple Google search will tell you that they most certainly can be,” Eduard explained. “They’re more likely to get away with it too because most female serial killers choose to poison their victims,”

“Poison?” Raivis asked.

“Yeah, you know, arsenic? It is rare to have one that  _ violently  _ murders them like the Puppeteer does, though.” 

“Oh,” Raivis finished the last of his coffee and sighed. “So, are you coming back to Warsaw with us?” he then asked Iryna, changing the topic suddenly. 

Iryna hesitated. “Do I...even want to?” 

“You can see Ivan again,” Eduard mentioned. “He misses you.  _ A lot _ . And who knows, maybe Natalya will be…”

“Nice?” Iryna snorted and rolled her eyes. “Doubt it.” She then thought for a moment. “But I  _ do _ want to see Vanya. It’s been so long.” 

“We’ll take you there, if it helps?” Eduard offered. 

“But she threatened m--” Iryna started. 

“I’ll do everything I can to make sure she doesn’t find out. And I’m sure Ivan will do the same.” 

Still hesitant, Iryna tapped her fingers against the coffee cup. After a few minutes, she finally nodded. “Okay, I’ll come with you.” 

Ivan prided himself with having no fears. 

He had experienced far too much in his life to be afraid of anything. He had lost everything at a young age; he lost his parents, he lost his sisters, his home, his “friends,” and his language. Moving to a new home with a kind, normal couple in Poland, he had to start all over again. At first, Ivan had been excited to meet new friends at his new school. But very quickly, the bullies had come out of the woodwork and terrorized him. 

Too many times had he been taken advantage of. He’d show kindness in every way he could, and what did people do? They take and take and take. Soon, Ivan would give all he had, and he received nothing in return. 

Everyone had been mean to him as a kid, making him question what he could have done to make people hate him so much. Everyone laughed at him until the minute he hit puberty and had his growth spurt. The second he towered over everyone was when they all left him alone. He was his own hero then; people finally listened to him, people were finally scared of  _ him _ . 

And it felt good. It felt good to be in control. 

The sun was beginning to peek through the curtains and the beeping sound of the alarm clock woke Ivan. Slowly, he rolled over to his left side to switch the alarm off and froze. 

Okay, Ivan had  _ one  _ fear. 

Staring right at him was his younger sister. Natalya was sitting on the floor, watching Ivan intently. There was no smile, no warmth to her gaze; just a cold, distant stare. Without breaking eye contact, Natalya reached over and turned off the alarm clock. The corners of her lips twitched into a smile. “_Доброе утро_, Vanya.” she whispered. 

Ivan gulped. “I thought I locked the door.” 

Natalya reached down to pick up a screwdriver that had been sitting beside her. “I got rid of that  _ pesky _ doorknob. Isn’t that nice?” The screwdriver dropped out of her hand with a loud thump. Her smile widened as she reached to caress his cheek. “Did you sleep well, Vanya?” 

“Y-yes,” Ivan answered. He sat up quickly and was thinking of his escape route. “Did you s--”

“I did, yes,” Natalya moved to sit beside her brother. “Thank you for asking.” She leaned against his arm and rested her head on his shoulder. “What would you like for breakfast?” 

“I-I don’t know yet,” Ivan answered, scooting away from her. “I-I have to shower first.” 

“I’ll surprise you, then,” she whispered, moving closer. “I’ll make your favorite. How does that sound?” 

Standing up, Ivan chose not to answer, knowing his sister would do whatever she wanted anyway. He made his way to the bathroom as quickly as he could and closed the door. But Natalya stopped the door before it could click shut. Ivan pushed on the door with all of his might, but he and Natalya were equally matched. 

Through the small gap, Natalya peeked through and sneered. “I didn't hear you. Would you like that,  _ Vanya _ ?” 

“Yes, do whatever you want, just let me close the door!” Ivan shouted. Finally, the door closed fully and Ivan was able to lock it. He lingered by the door, listening to Natalya’s footsteps fade away as she made her way downstairs. Relieved, Ivan turned on the water for his shower and peeled off his pajamas. 

_ Why does she have to be so weird? _

_ When is Tolys coming back?  _

_ When will this stop?  _

When he first met Tolys, Ivan admired his hard work ethic and kindness. Tolys was the type of friend that Ivan had dreamed of ever since he was a kid: Kind, gentle, and genuine. They had gotten along upon the first meeting, and Ivan wanted to keep Tolys to himself.  _ As a friend _ , of course. 

That is, until Tolys met Natalya and discreetly lusted after her. 

And so, because it meant that he’d see Tolys more often, Ivan played “matchmaker” and watched his sister and friend “fall in love.” At first, he lived vicariously through his sister when she told him all of the details of her relationship with Tolys. She never spared any details; Ivan knew  _ everything _ about their dates and romantic antics (yes,  _ including  _ the bedroom). 

Then, he had to watch his sister practically hate Tolys and pretend to kill him over and over and over. It wasn’t a perfect situation, but Ivan didn’t know what else to do; Tolys couldn’t know the truth. So Ivan did his best to protect Tolys, because that’s what  _ friends _ would do for each other, after all. 

Things were fine until Feliks entered the picture. 

Ever since Tolys started helping that  _ idiot  _ Feliks, he had been going on “excursions” more often, leaving Ivan to watch his sister by himself. Ivan  _ hated  _ that Tolys was breaking the routine he, Natalya and Ivan had worked so hard to create. Ivan  _ hated  _ that Tolys was more concerned for that  _ idiot  _ Feliks than he was for his own girlfriend. 

Ivan  _ hated  _ that Tolys had become  _ selfish _ . 

What Tolys failed to realize, and what Tolys  _ couldn’t  _ ever know, was that Natalya had a secret life. A secret life of luring men into her trap so she could torture and murder them. When Tolys wasn’t around, Natalya was at her  _ worst _ . And so, what Tolys didn’t know was that he was  _ helping  _ Natalya get  _ better _ . 

Or so, Ivan  _ wanted  _ to believe. 

Stepping into the shower, Ivan took a sharp breath as the warm water hit his body. All of the dirt and grime that coated his skin was washed away in a single moment, making him feel human again. Natalya had killed another man last night, and as always, called Ivan over to help “clean it up.” This one, fortunately, hadn’t left too much of a mess. 

It took a lot of strength to carry a dead body, and Ivan’s muscles ached as he finished his shower. Thankfully, Natalya always helped him move the body, but Ivan wasn’t sure if it was because she  _ wanted _ to or because she just wanted to spend more time with him. 

Making his way to his room, Ivan quickly got dressed and went downstairs where he found Natalya standing next to the dining room table, waiting. “I made you breakfast, Vanya.” she announced. 

“I can see that,” Ivan sighed. “Don’t you have work?” 

“I called in sick,” Natalya replied. She tilted her head and smirked. “Please, sit.” 

Hesitant, Ivan sat down in the chair where a plate full of food was sitting. Natalya quickly sat across from him, watching.  _ Why me _ ? Ivan thought as he took his first bite of his breakfast.  _ Why does she have to be obsessed with  _ me _ , of all people _ ? 

“Is it to your liking?” she then asked, leaning forward. 

“Yes,” Ivan answered. “It’s good. Thank you.” He wiped his mouth with a napkin. “Have you heard from Tolys at all?” 

Natalya scowled. “I don’t want to talk to him,” she hissed. “Fucking  _ bastard _ .” 

“I think it would be good if both of you made up,” Ivan mentioned, thoughtfully. “A couple shouldn’t stay mad at each other for too long.” 

“Let me kill him.” 

Ivan froze. “We’ve discussed this, Natalya. Tolys is a good person an--” 

“Let me kill him.” she repeated. 

“No!” Ivan slammed his hand on the table and Natalya didn’t even flinch. “Tolys is a good person and he  _ helps  _ you with your...your  _ urges _ .” 

Natalya narrowed her eyes. “Why do you like him so much?” 

“We’ve been through this,” Ivan grumbled. “_Don’t _ask me that.” 

“I’m running out of people who  _ look  _ like him,” Natalya mentioned, ignoring the deeper meaning of her brother’s answer. “Let me kill him.” 

“No!!” 

Natalya grinned. “If you let me kill him, I can kill that little  _ rat  _ too. And you’d have the bar all to yourself. Wouldn’t you like that, Vanya?” 

Ivan thought for a second. “Tempting, but...no.” He stood up and put his coat on. “Please, just talk to Tolys. I’m sure he’s sorry.” 

“You didn’t even finish your breakfast.” Natalya complained. 

Ivan scrambled for an excuse. “I saved some for you. You weren’t eating anything so I thought you’d like some.” 

Natalya smiled warmly and stood up. “So thoughtful,” she muttered, putting her hands over her heart. “This is why I love you, Vanya. You’re the only one who cares about me.” 

Ivan grimaced and turned to face the door. He hated when she said that; she always said it with a dreamy, romantic tone and it creeped him out. “Go home and get some rest, Natalya,” he said, opening the front door. “And talk to Tolys.  _ Please _ .” 

Tolys had to be coming home today. He  _ had  _ to. 

“I’ll think about it,” Natalya groaned. “He and the  _ idiot  _ should be coming home today anyway.” 

Ivan nodded. “Good. And be kind to him. And gentle. And kiss him. Okay?” 

Natalya crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. “If I must.” 

Having no words left to say, Ivan stared at her in fear before silently stepping out of the house and closing the door. Climbing into his car, Ivan slammed the door shut and looked up to see Natalya standing on the porch, watching as usual. Ivan shook his head and muttered:

“Who cursed me?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I dunno, Ivan, some of this stuff seems like it could've been prevented, buddy.
> 
> Hello everyone!!! As promised, chapter 15 is here!! Things are getting tense, huh? And now we have some answers to the mystery, right? The story is over, right? ;) 
> 
> Of course not. 
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Feel free to leave a critique or comment down below! I know some of you called out the mystery long ago :P I tried my best to make you guys question and go back and forth, though! The next update should be around March 7th! See you then!!


	16. Breakup

Upon arriving in Warsaw, it had started to rain. As Tolys and Feliks raced to the car, the rain got heavier and heavier, nearly getting their clothes completely soaked. Catching his breath, Tolys started the car and pushed back his drenched hair. Pulling out of the parking lot, Tolys was trying to rehearse in his mind what exactly he was going to say to Natalya. As far as he was concerned, the end of their relationship was long overdue; Tolys wished he wasn’t so kind and forgiving all the time. 

Soon they arrived at the house and when Tolys turned the car off, he and Feliks sat in silence for a while. 

Feliks reached over to squeeze Tolys’ hand. “Hey,” he said, gently. “I’m here. If you start feeling a little anxious, just look at me and I’ll make a goofy face, okay?” 

Tolys chuckled and he squeezed Feliks’ hand back. “Will do.” 

They climbed out of the car, grabbed their suitcases and soon entered the house. It was quiet, a little too quiet, and Tolys soon realized that Natalya was nowhere to be found. “Strange,” Tolys mentioned, stepping out of the bedroom. 

“Maybe she took an earlier shift today,” Feliks said, shrugging. 

Just as Tolys was about to say that it was  _ highly  _ unlikely as Natalya was  _ not  _ a morning person, they heard the front door slam and Natalya came walking in, looking through her bag. She froze and looked up, her eyes going straight to Tolys. “You never told me when you were coming home.” Her tone was completely flat, and it scared him more than yelling. 

Tolys took a deep breath and exhaled. “I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I  _ did  _ leave a message on your phone the other day. You never called me back.” 

Natalya thought carefully of her response. “It didn’t come through.” 

She was lying, Tolys knew it. “Okay, well--” 

Natalya interrupted him by abruptly giving him a hug and kissing his cheek. “Whatever. You’re home. Yay, I guess.” she said sarcastically as she started walking up the stairs. 

Tolys turned to watch her as she walked away, clearing his throat. “Actually, I was wondering if we could talk?” 

Stopping in her tracks, Natalya looked over her shoulder. “About what? How you just  _ left  _ me for three days with no explanation, no preparation?” Her tone was harsher this time as she spoke. She turned around and crossed her arms. “Who even  _ knows  _ what you were up to.” 

“Feliks had a performance in London.” Tolys reminded her, trying not to get frustrated. “He’s a performer and I’m helping him get back on his feet financially, remember?” 

Natalya rolled her eyes. “Don’t you see that he’s a lost cause?” 

Tolys frowned and shook his head. “He’s not. He’s actually very good at what he does, and he deserves to have a good life like the rest of us.” 

Natalya didn’t say anything for a moment. “You’re wasting your time. You should be more focused on helping Ivan with his new business. You signed the papers, didn’t you?  _ He’s  _ the one who needs your help, not this worthless  _ rat _ .” 

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t call Feliks that,” Tolys said, raising his voice a little. 

“It’s fine, I’ve been called worse,” Feliks muttered. 

“Are you  _ yelling  _ at me?” Natalya hissed. 

“What? I can’t raise my voice when I’m frustrated? You yell at me all the time, Natalya; no need to act like a saint!” 

Natalya scowled and tilted her head. “I’m sorry, what on  _ earth  _ do you want to talk about? Because I have  _ better _ things to do with my time.” 

Tolys hesitated. “I’ve done some thinking, and I think it would be best for the both of us if we went our separate ways.” 

Natalya giggled, but her smirk quickly disappeared. “I’m sorry, you  _ what _ ?” 

“I think it would be best for us to go separate ways,” Tolys repeated, trying to keep his voice steady. 

Natalya looked up at the ceiling, trying to hide her smile and laugh. “Oh, this is just  _ too  _ funny. Someone decided to put on his big boy pants today!” she taunted. Stepping down two steps, she met eyes with Tolys and gave a twisted grin. “Too bad they don’t  _ fit _ .” 

“I’m  _ serious  _ Natalya!” Tolys shouted. “All we do is fight and argue! You constantly belittle me, you constantly make me feel like shit!” 

Natalya laughed in his face. “If you feel like shit, maybe that’s because that’s what you are, Tolys.  _ Shit _ .” 

“This is what I’m talking about; you’re toxic!”  _ How could I have put up with this for so long—? _

“Oh come on, Tolys,” Natalya grabbed his chin with one hand, squeezing his cheeks with a tight grip. She pulled him closer to her, their lips almost touching. “ _ You love it _ .” 

Tolys quickly pushed her away. “No! No I don’t!” He took a few steps away from her and shook his head. “This is what I’m talking about! You can’t claim you  _ love  _ someone if you treat them this way!” 

Amused, Natalya continued to smirk and waited for Tolys to continue. 

Astonished, Tolys glanced at Feliks and back to Natalya. “You have  _ nothing  _ to say?” 

“What do you want me to say?”

“That you’re sorry,” Tolys began. “That you don’t mean to be this way. Or maybe give me an explanation as to  _ why  _ you treat me and Feliks so terribly.” 

Natalya giggled. “I’m  _ not  _ sorry.” 

Tolys clenched his fists and was ready to snap back, but Feliks pulled him back. “Breathe,” he whispered. “She’s just doing this to get a rise out of you. She likes playing games.” 

For a brief second, Tolys held onto Feliks’ hand, focusing on his breathing to calm himself down. Feliks was right; Natalya loved to play games, and she  _ wanted  _ Tolys to be angry. She thought it was  _ funny _ . Tolys’ pain made her  _ happy _ . 

But the two of them held hands for a second too long, making Natalya suspicious of them. “What’s this about?” she hissed, pointing to their hands. 

They quickly let go and stood a few inches apart. “What?” Tolys answered. 

“You were holding hands with the  _ ra- _ -” 

“ _ Feliks _ . His name is  _ Feliks _ . And if you call him that one more time, Natalya…” 

“What?” She finally stepped down the stairs and got in Tolys’ face again. “You’ll  _ what _ ?” 

Tolys bit down hard on his tongue. “You know what? I’m not doing this anymore.” He pointed to the door. “Get out.” he blurted. 

“ _ Excuse me _ ?!” 

“You heard me! I have been paying the rent for months now; this is  _ my  _ place. Get out!” 

Natalya clenched her fists. “Tell me what you and the  _ rat  _ were doing in London, Tolys.” Natalya insisted. Suddenly, this wasn’t entertaining for her anymore.

“We went sightseeing and Feliks performed. That’s it.” Tolys answered, purposefully leaving information out. 

Natalya looked at him skeptically. “No, I don’t think that’s all, Tolys,” she whispered. “Are you keeping secrets from me?” 

“ _ No _ .” Tolys lied. 

Natalya’s eye twitched as she looked at Feliks. “ _ You _ ,” she hissed. “What did you two do in London?” 

Feliks smiled. “Sightseeing.” 

“What  _ else _ ?” 

“I think we had dinner with some friends. It was very good. I had some ravioli, wine and tiramisu…” Feliks recalled, thoughtfully. 

Natalya narrowed her eyes. “I know what you  _ are _ .” she muttered. 

“What am I?” Feliks asked. 

“A f--”

“Fabulous person? Aw, why thank you!” Feliks smirked and looked past her. “Tolys, what did you have for dinner that one night? Since someone doesn’t want to believe us.” 

Tolys thought for a moment. “I think I had some tortellini with like a...a kind of meat sauce? Very tasty, actually.” he answered, playing along. 

“Spaghetti bolognese!” Feliks added. “In case you didn’t know, it’s another classic Italian di--”

“You’re hiding something from me, Tolys. I can  _ smell  _ it.” Natalya leaned closer to Tolys, getting in his face. She was persistent as ever. 

“The only thing I’ve hidden from you is my honesty about how much I can’t  _ stand _ you.” Tolys blurted. As soon as the words left his lips, his eyes widened in fear. “I-I didn’t mean to say that o-out loud. I-I’m sorry, Natalya. P-please forgive me.” 

The house was completely silent as Natalya stared off in the distance. She remained still and quiet for a while. “I-I think you broke her.” Feliks whispered, moving to stand next to Tolys. He was genuinely creeped out; something wasn’t right. He waved a hand in front of her face to see if she would flinch. When she remained still, Feliks took a step back and looked at Tolys, panicked. “Is she alright?” 

“I d-don’t know…” Tolys replied, his voice trailing off. 

Soon, Natalya let out a soft giggle, fighting a smirk. She couldn’t seem to fight it as her giggling turned into laughter, then into a cackle. It was such a peculiar laugh; every so often she’d gasp and laugh harder and harder. Feliks took a step back, pulling Tolys along with him. Natalya stepped closer, and without thinking, Feliks stood between her and Tolys. 

“What’s your de--” he began, before being pushed forcefully to the floor by Natalya. 

“You have no idea what you’ve done, Tolys Laurinaitis,” Natalya whispered. Her eyes were wide and she had a twisted smile upon her face. “ _ No idea _ .” 

_ This is the happiest I’ve ever seen her.  _ Tolys thought as he took a step back, trying to get his personal space back. “W-what a-are you talking--” Tolys stammered. 

“No idea, no idea at all.” Natalya chanted over and over. 

“You’re freaking us out!” Feliks shouted, standing up. 

“Is this what you  _ truly  _ want, Tolys? You want me  _ gone _ ?” Natalya asked, still laughing. “Gone for  _ good _ ?” 

“Yes,” Tolys added, without hesitation. He pulled out his keys and took off the car key to the Jetta. “A-and give me back  _ my  _ BMW! I spent my hard earned money on it, and you just  _ took  _ it.” 

Natalya didn’t bother answering. Her creepy laughter had finally stopped, and all that was left was her eerie stare and smirk. 

“D-did you hear me? I-I said I want--” Tolys began. 

“Oh, I heard you,” Natalya whispered. She pulled her keys out of her purse and took the BMW key off. “Loud and clear.” She threw the key and the key fob towards Tolys without warning, and threw it with such force that if Tolys hadn’t had quick reflexes, it would have hit him right in the eye. She then opened the door and stepped out. 

“What about your stuff?” Feliks called after her. “Y-you can’t just  _ leave  _ it here, after all?!”

Natalya looked over her shoulder and sneered. “Don’t worry about it,” she said, softly. “I’ll be back soon enough.” 

“You’ll  _ what _ ?” Feliks turned to Tolys, concerned. “Don’t you want the keys to the house ba--” 

Feliks was interrupted by the sound of the Jetta roaring awake and Natayla slamming her foot on the accelerator, backing out of the driveway. Putting the car in drive, she did the same thing, leaving a cloud of dust. 

“Uh,” Feliks muttered, looking up at Tolys. “How quickly can we get these locks changed?” 

The trip from Warsaw to Kyiv, then Kyiv to Warsaw had been a whirlwind. Both Eduard and Raivis were completely exhausted, ready to go home and collapse in their beds. But Iryna needed to be reunited with Ivan, and that, of course, took precedence over their needs. 

Parking across the street from  ** _Evergreen Gardens_ ** , Eduard turned to Iryna and sighed. “Okay, it looks like the store is empty. It must be a slow time. Now is probably a good time to go in before any customers come in.” 

Watching Iryna, Eduard could tell that she was nervous. She was fiddling around with her long skirt and was looking out the window, trying to see through the plants that sat on the sill. “It’s such a nice little shop,” she said, her voice wavering. “It reminds me of our parents’ shop.” 

Hesitant, Eduard gently put his hand over Iryna’s wrist, silently assuring her. “I’m sure Ivan will be very happy to see you.” 

Iryna smiled. “I know.” She paused. “Are you two coming inside too?” 

“We’ll wait a few minutes,” Eduard answered. “I’m sure you and Ivan would want some time just by yourselves. To reconnect.” 

“Yes,” Iryna replied, nodding. She opened the door and stepped out. Looking both ways, Iryna crossed the street as quickly as she could and stopped right at the door. Inside, she could see Ivan standing at the cash register, flipping through some receipts. He was most likely doing some bookkeeping.  _ He’s the spitting image of Papa _ . Iryna thought. Gently, she opened the door and stepped into the shop. 

“Welcome to  ** _Evergreen Gardens_ ** ,” Ivan greeted, without looking up. His voice was rather flat as he seemed tired. “I will be with you in a moment; please feel free to look around!” 

Iryna hesitated. What was she to say to him? After all of these years? 

“Vanya?” 

Not recognizing her voice, Ivan quickly looked up, confused.  _ What if he doesn’t recognize me? _ Iryna took a couple of steps forward and smiled. “Do you remember me?” she asked. 

“Iryna?” Ivan asked, shocked. He slowly stood up and walked towards her. “Is it really you?” 

“Yes,” Iryna answered. “It’s me. I’m sorry for--”

Before she could finish, Ivan had swept her up in a hug, squeezing her tight. “I can’t believe it’s you!! They  _ actually  _ found you!!” he cheered. He lifted his sister off of the ground and spun around. “We can be a family again!! This is wonderful!!” 

Iryna couldn’t help but laugh. “We have so much catching up to do!” she said, as her brother put her back down. “You’ll have to tell me everything you’ve been up to, Vanya.” 

“Yes, of course!” Ivan looked around his shop. “You’re looking at my hard work, right here. My blood, sweat, and tears were put into this place.” 

Iryna smiled; it was such a wonderful little shop, she couldn’t help but be proud of her brother. “All of the plants are so beautiful! And you grew all of these yourself?” 

Ivan nodded. “Years ago, it started out as a favorite past time. Now it’s my business,” He smiled. “I’m very proud of my work.” 

“I think it’s earned! Mama and Papa would be so proud!” 

As the two began to reconnect, Ivan eventually moved over to the door to flip the “Open” sign to “Closed.” From afar, Eduard could see all that was going on and smiled to himself. Regardless of the dark clouds that seemed to loom over the Braginsky family from a distance, he was happy to have reunited them. Seeing Ivan and Iryna talk to each other with excitement made Eduard feel happy for them. 

“Can we  _ go  _ now?” Raivis whined. His hair was a mess from sleeping in the back seat, and there were dark bags under his eyes. 

“In a bit; we can’t just leave Iryna all by herself.” 

“She’s with Ivan; I’m sure she’s fine.” 

Eduard turned around. “It would be rude to leave her here.” 

Raivis groaned. “I’m hungry though…” 

Eduard reached into his pocket and pulled out some cash. “There’s a bakery down the street. Go grab yourself something.” 

With a grin, Raivis grabbed the cash out of Eduard’s hand and rushed out of the car. Shaking his head, Eduard turned back around to watch the flower shop. Eventually, Raivis returned with a muffin and scarfed it down faster than anyone should. He soon looked to the shop’s window, and then watched Eduard closely. 

“You like her, don’t you?” Raivis blurted. 

Eduard turned around. “What?” 

“Iryna. You like her, don’t you?” 

“What’s not to like? She’s a nice woman.” 

“No, I mean you  _ like  _ her. You stare at her like you do.” 

Before Eduard could object, he noticed Tolys’ car pull into the spot right in front of  ** _Evergreen Gardens_ ** . Except, it wasn’t Tolys who was driving. It was Natalya. 

Something  _ wasn’t  _ right. 

“Shit,” Eduard blurted, watching as Natalya climbed out of the old car. For the first time in his life, Eduard saw a smile on Natalya’s face. There was something disturbing about her smile, it was far more than sinister. It looked as if she was trying not to laugh as she walked around the car with a slight skip in her step. 

Natalya made her way into the flower shop, ignoring that the sign on the door said “Closed.” Eduard quickly got out of his car to get a better look. “Fuck,” he muttered under his breath. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.” 

There was nothing Eduard could do except watch as Natalya entered the shop. Once she was inside, she immediately came to a stop, her grin vanishing. 

Both Iryna and Ivan turned to her. Iryna tensed up as she held onto her wrist tightly. She looked up to her towering brother, watching his reaction. 

He had a forced smile on his face and it seemed as if he was as anxious as Iryna. 

Taking a deep breath, Iryna smiled and decided to clear the air. "Natalya? Is that you?" she exclaimed, pretending that she had never met her sister prior to this day. 

"What the f--" Natalya began. But Iryna wrapped her sister up into a warm hug.

"Oh my goodness! It's so good to see you after all this time!!" Iryna continued. "Look at how beautiful you've become! You look just like Mama! 

Her sister grimaced but played along. "And you got fat," Natalya hissed. 

"Natalya!!!" Ivan hissed. "She's just big boned…"

"What?! She's fat as a cow!! Look at her!!" Natalya smirked. "It's a shame you weren't blessed with good looks, Iryna." 

Iryna took a deep breath; too long had she worried about the way she looked. Her big chest, her wide hips, her flabby stomach; she worried about it all too often as a kid. But now she wasn’t going to put up with it. Natalya was aiming for a weak point anyways; if she really wanted to knock Iryna down, she’d try a little harder. 

Iryna chose not to play Natalya's game and ignored her sister’s comment completely. "Can you tell me what you've been up to? The three of us have so much catching up to do!" 

"Yes, how long are you staying in Warsaw?" Ivan asked. "We should plan a dinner at my place. We can cook a big feast, just like when we were little. Remember that one Christmas when we had that huge ham?" 

Iryna laughed. "Yes! We were eating ham for weeks on end!!" 

Natalya scoffed. " _ I  _ don't remember that." 

"It was before you were older." Ivan mentioned, flatly. 

Natalya crossed her arms and glared at her sister. "What are you doing here? You want money?" 

"No, not at all--" Iryna began. 

"You heard both of us have money, so you wanted in on it? You're the one who abandoned  _ us _ , what makes you think we'd want to be a family again??" 

"I didn't abandon you! I-I stayed away because I had to! It was safer--" Iryna tried defending herself. 

"Don't listen to her, Vanya," Natalya hissed. 

Ivan scowled at her and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Iryna, please excuse her. It seems she's suddenly forgotten her manners." 

Natalya glared at her brother and crossed her arms. “I need to talk to you about something.” she hissed. 

“Me? What about?” Ivan replied. 

“I need to speak to you  _ privately _ .” Natalya clarified. 

Ivan rolled his eyes. “Whatever you need to say to me can be said in front of Iryna.” 

“W-well, I just wanted to pop in to say hi,” Iryna stated, making her way to the exit. The energy in the room was strange and she wanted to leave as fast as she could. “I can drop by again later to discuss a time for dinner? I’m here for quite some time, so…”

Ivan frowned and followed her to the door. “No, no, please stay! I’ve been meaning to take a day off for...a couple of years now. I can show you around and catch up!” Before Ivan could take another step, he was pulled back by Natalya, who wrapped both of her arms around his left. 

“That won’t be necessary.” she muttered. 

Ivan tried to shrug his sister away from him, but she wouldn’t budge. “Can’t you let me have this  _ one  _ good thing?” he whispered. 

Natalya smirked. “No.” 

Glaring at his younger sister, Ivan forcefully pulled his arm away from her and took a deep breath. “Iryna, wait--”

But it was already too late. Sensing a strange vibe from her sister, Iryna took it upon herself to leave the store in a hurry. Crossing the street, she climbed into Eduard’s car and slammed the door shut behind her. 

“So?” Eduard asked, hesitant. He started to drive out of the parking space.

“Well, it started off fine...until Natalya showed up,” Iryna replied. “She always worried me with her behavior, but today, she down right  _ terrified _ me. I don’t know what’s going on, but she just...I think she’s planning something tonight.” 

Eduard glanced at Iryna as they sat at a red light. “Planning something?” 

Iryna nodded. “Yes, planning to kill someone,” she confirmed, sinking into her seat. 

_ Shit _ , Eduard thought to himself.  _ She was driving Tolys’ car...don’t tell me… _

“And I think, somehow, Ivan  _ is  _ involved.” She shook her head. “I pray to God that I’m wrong.” 

“W-what do you think we should do?” Raivis asked. “Do we call the police?” 

Eduard shook his head. “No matter how much we  _ think _ it’s Natalya, we can’t call the authorities if we don’t have any substantial evidence. We need to find something that incriminates her greatly so that she’ll be taken into custody.” 

“You said that she’s dating someone? Do they live together? Perhaps we can find something there…” Iryna mentioned. 

“Well,” Eduard hesitated. Though he wasn’t 100 percent sure of all that could be going on. He already knew that Tolys and Feliks slept together, and knowing his best friend, Tolys would feel that he’d have to do the right thing and “tell her.” Eduard had no idea what Tolys could have told Natalya, but regardless, it wouldn’t have led to a good outcome. Especially given the fact that Natalya was probably itching to  _ kill  _ Tolys all this time. 

Eduard reached to pull his phone out of his pocket. “Let me make a phone call.” 

When he had seen that Iryna had left the store  _ running _ and climbed into Eduard’s car, Ivan was livid. He looked to his younger sister, grinding his teeth. “Why do you have to ruin everything?!” he asked, trying his best not to yell. 

Natalya looked up at him, eyes distant. “I need to talk to you.” she answered. 

“ _ What  _ could possibly be so  _ important _ that you have to push our own  _ sister  _ away?!” Ivan hissed. 

“Tolys broke up with me.” Natalya said, smiling. 

Ivan took a step back, shocked.  _ Tolys would never do such a thing _ . He thought. “No. He  _ didn’t _ .” 

Natalya snickered. “He did. He made me take back my old car that’s a piece of shit. He told me to get out. He told me he can’t  _ stand  _ me anymore,” She giggled and her eyes beamed with joy. “You know what this means, right? I can  _ finally _ kill him!” 

“No,” Ivan grabbed her shoulders, ready to shake her. “No, you’re not!” 

“Vanya, don’t you see? It’s all come full circle. With Tolys out of the equation, we can be together,” she said softly. She said it as if she were reading the happy ending of a love story. “I’d no longer have to worry about keeping up appearances. He’d be gone for good. All my attention won’t be on him, it will be on you. Wouldn’t you like that?” 

“Natalya,  _ listen to me _ : You’re  _ not _ going to kill Tolys!” Ivan insisted. 

Natalya scowled and pushed her brother’s hands away. “What’s with your obsession with him? Why do you like him so much? He’s an imcompotent man who stumbles around. He’s a waste of space. He’s the  _ ultimate  _ puppet.” 

“Tolys is a very good man, and a smart one at that,” Ivan snapped. “You just have to learn to be nicer.” He pointed to the door. “Go back and make amends!” 

Natalya crossed her arms and didn’t budge. “It’s not time yet. I’m only going back to retrieve my victims so I can torture them first.” 

“ _ Victims _ ?” 

“Yes; I thought I’d get rid of Feliks too. He’s worthless.” 

Ivan was speechless. His sister had finally lost it completely. All this time, he thought he had it under control… “Why don’t you wait a day or two?” Ivan suggested. He wanted to be rational. He wanted all of this to stop. “You’re upset because you’ve gotten your heart broken. Come on, I’ll take you back to my place. You can rest there.” 

“You can’t stop me, Vanya,” Natalya stated bluntly. “I’m going to kill Tolys so we can be together, and I’m going to kill Feliks so you can have what you want. We’ll live happily ever after.” 

Ivan shuddered at the thought. Not knowing what else to do, he calmly made his way to the office and closed the door. He locked it and moved one of his filing cabinets in front of it. He did the same for the door that led to the greenhouse. 

There was no way Natalya could get in. 

He needed a moment of peace, a moment to think. Covering up for his sister for  _ years  _ was starting to wear him down. He never turned Natalya away because she was family, and even though she was  _ terrible  _ company: terrible company was still better than no company at all. At some point, he had become numb to all the monstrosities Natalya had been doing. After the first couple of victims, they had buried them under the greenhouse. 

“It’ll be good fertilizer, Vanya. Imagine how many plants you could grow.” Natalya had said. 

Then, Natalya didn’t want to bury them anymore, she wanted to “put on a show.” “They’re all so beautiful when they’re dead. Let’s hang them up. Like the little puppets they are.” 

Ivan had convinced himself that it wasn’t  _ that  _ bad. The men Natalya killed were ones she lured in with her beauty, ones that were already cheating on their girlfriends or wives in the first place. Most of the men she killed were scummy in some way, which made it all okay in Ivan’s mind. Some people didn’t deserve to be on this earth if they weren’t going to be good for society. 

But after seeing Iryna and finally knowing that she was alive and well, Ivan suddenly no longer felt numb. Everything soon began to come crashing down on him; the repercussions of being a murderer’s accomplice, the inevitable disappointment from Iryna, the inevitable life sentence in jail. 

Calm and collected Ivan was starting to crack. 

Ready to face his younger sister again, Ivan moved everything and stepped out of his office, only to find that Natalya had already left to put her plan into motion. 

The way Natalya left didn’t sit right with Feliks.  _ There’s something wrong with her _ . Feliks kept saying to himself. Though he was happy she was gone, he had a feeling that this wasn’t the end. 

Tolys, on the other hand, didn’t seem to think much of it. 

“What do you wanna do for dinner?” Tolys asked. It was starting to get late and both of them were getting hungry. 

Feliks shrugged. “I don’t know,” he answered. His mind was still occupied over Natalya and worried about what she might do. He didn’t trust her and knew she would be up to something to make both of them “pay.” 

“Wanna order something in? Like pizza?” Tolys offered, light-heartedly. “Or we could go out to eat?” 

“I like the idea of staying in,” Feliks said. If they left the house, it’d leave Natalya the ripe opportunity of sneaking back in and hiding in the house. Feliks didn’t want to give her the chance. “Pizza’s fine.” 

Tolys looked around the kitchen for the phone number of the pizza place and soon sat down. “Are you okay?” 

“Hm?” 

“Are you okay? Ever since Natalya left, you’ve seemed...worried.” 

“You aren’t?” Feliks looked at the front door. “Tolys, you kicked her out, but you didn’t ask for the house keys.” 

“She said she’ll be back to get her stuff at some point. I’ll get the keys then.” Tolys clarified. 

Feliks frowned. “You didn’t find her...chanting and happiness and laughter...odd?” 

“She does that,” Tolys excused. 

“Doesn’t make it normal.” Feliks tapped his fingers on the counter. “Can I be honest? I don’t feel comfortable staying here.” 

“What?” 

“Can we stay at a hotel? O-or at Eduard’s? I just...have a funny feeling that something’s wrong.” 

Tolys stared at him, confused. He didn’t understand why Feliks ( _ Feliks _ , the person who didn’t worry about  _ anything _ !) was worried. “Hey, I’m usually the worrywart,” Tolys joked, trying to lighten the mood. “I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about. Do you like pepperoni on your pizza?” 

Feliks stared back at Tolys with concern. “Yeah,” he said, turning to leave the kitchen. “Pepperoni is fine.” 

As Tolys made the call to place the order, Feliks wandered upstairs to the main bedroom. He opened up the closet to find all of Natalya’s clothes. One by one, he started to take them out, fold them up and place them on the bed. The thought of taking a couple dresses for himself crossed his mind, but he decided against it. Natalya gave him bad vibes all around, and he wanted nothing to do with them. 

Suddenly, he came across one dress that had red paint splattered all over it. Or at least, Feliks  _ wanted  _ to think it was paint. Upon further examination, he realized that it was  _ blood _ . 

Unless she had a really bad menstruation cycle, there was no reason for there to be  _ blood  _ all over her dress. 

Trying to remain calm, Feliks set the blood-covered dress aside and went back to the closet. He pulled out the remaining clothes and then stared at the blood dress. 

There had to be more evidence laying around. 

He knelt on the floor to look under the bed. A lot of things seemed to be hiding in the bedroom; there  _ had  _ to be more. Eventually, he noticed that the mattress was lifted up just slightly as if something had been stuck between it and the box spring. Sticking his hand in, he pulled out a journal that clearly belonged to Natalya. 

At best, it was some kind of sex journal. At worst...well…

Hesitant, Feliks opened the journal and immediately threw the journal across the room, screaming. The journal landed open, resting on one of the pages. Inside were pictures of Krzysiek Nowak, one of the more recent victims of “The Puppeteer.” His name was written at the top of the page, underlined, followed by a picture of him smiling. It looked like it had been printed off of a dating or a social media site. Underneath his picture was a list of flaws he was claimed to have. 

Ugly. 

Boring. 

Weak. 

Is open to experiment.

Stupid. 

Tolys in “disguise.” 

On the next page were pictures of Krzysiek’s body hanging off of the front of an abandoned house. The picture must have been taken not too long after he had been killed; the vibrancy of the blood trickling down made an indication of that. 

Just the sight alone of the picture was enough to make Feliks want to vomit. 

“ _ Kurwa _ ,” he muttered, breathing heavily. “ _ Kurwa mać _ .” 

While Feliks was upstairs, Tolys made the quick phone call to order a pizza. As he hung up the phone, he heard a strange noise that came from the back of the house. “Feliks?” he called out. 

The house answered with silence. 

Shrugging it off, Tolys set his phone down, only for it to ring. He quickly answered it to find that it was Eduard making the call. 

“Do you know that your voicemail is full? I wanted to leave you messages but--” Eduard started, without proper greeting. 

“Oh shoot, I forgot that I need to delete all of those messages. They’re probably from Ivan.” Tolys answered. He sensed an urgency in Eduard’s voice. “Is everything okay?” 

“Wait, how many messages did Ivan leave you? Never mind, that’s not what’s important right now,” Eduard clarified. “Where are you?” 

“I’m at home, why?” 

“You have to leave.”

“What?” 

“You’re in danger. You have to get out of there  _ now _ .” 

Tolys shook his head in confusion. “Slow down, Eduard. What are you talking about?” 

“I can’t explain right now, but I’ve done a lot of research while you were gone, and I’m about 99% sure that Natalya is the Puppeteer.” 

“What? Eduard,  _ come on _ . The Puppeteer is an extremely violent killer. Natalya wouldn’t be capable of doing that stuff.” Tolys scoffed. 

“Trust me. I’ve heard the story from her older sister,” Eduard continued. 

“Older sis--she never told me she has a sister!!” 

“I’ve looked into Natalya’s background. She’s the  _ perfect  _ killer with the  _ perfect  _ cover. And I’m certain she’s aiming for you to be her next victim.” 

As Tolys listened to Eduard’s seemingly rash banter, he heard heavy footsteps running down the stairs into the kitchen. Feliks placed a book in front of him, open to a page with pictures of a bloodied corpse. 

“E-Eduard, could you hang on a minute,” Tolys said. He covered the phone with his hand and looked at Feliks in horror. “W-what’s this?” 

“This was under  _ your  _ bed. It’s Natalya’s.  _ She’s  _ the fucking killer, Tolys!” Feliks said, panicked. “She’s going to kill us. I know it. We have to leave.  _ Now _ .” 

“W-we can’t know that she’s going t-to do that…” Tolys argued. Even though they had just broken up with her, out of habit, he was still excusing her. 

Feliks quickly flipped the page to where it had Tolys’ name written on it, subtitled as “The Ultimate Puppet.” Underneath was a picture of him and Natalya together, with Natalya scowling at the camera of course. There was of course, no other pictures as the deed had not been completed yet. 

“O-oh fuck…” Tolys whispered. He put his phone back up to his ear. “Let me call you back, Eduard.” He hung up and put his phone in his pocket as calmly as he could. Taking a deep breath, he nodded. “Right, we gotta go.” 

Feliks nodded. “Uh, yeah. We do.” 

They both hurried to the front door but immediately froze. There stood Natalya, still as could be, with a chilling smirk across her face and her hands behind her back.

“Going somewhere?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh shit! Oh f*ck! 
> 
> Now I know what you're probably thinking. A cliffhanger? No! 
> 
> But, if you give me some time, multiple chapters will be uploaded momentarily! How many chapters? Welp, Seventeen, Eighteen and Nineteen to be precise! So sit tight and get ready for a ride! 
> 
> See you soon! 
> 
> -Katelyn


	17. Torture

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: This chapter is INCREDIBLY violent, as well as the next one. If that is something bothers you, you may want to skip out on this chapter and the next.

No one ever suspected her. 

How could someone so  _ beautiful _ , so  _ dainty  _ be a murderer? 

How could a  _ woman  _ be a monster? 

That couldn’t be possible, right? 

With both Tolys and Feliks in the trunk, unconscious, Natalya closed the driver’s side door and made a phone call to her brother. As she waited for him to answer, she couldn’t help but smile. All this time, she had wanted to get rid of Tolys. Now she was finally able to do so. 

Did she like Tolys at one time? Sure. The first 6 months of their relationship were quite nice. It was probably the only time Natalya felt something that resembled love. During that span of time, Natalya thought that she was capable of change. She thought maybe she had met a man who could please her and keep her happy. She didn’t have to kill anymore to feel something. 

But then she grew bored and the urge to kill returned. 

She would have gotten rid of Tolys sooner, but Ivan  _ liked  _ him. Tolys was Ivan’s accountant, and Ivan thought of Tolys as a friend. When Natalya first said that she was bored of Tolys and wanted to kill him, Ivan told her that Tolys was a good person and could help her.  _ Save  _ her from destroying herself. And because her brother  _ adored  _ Tolys, Natalya couldn’t get rid of him. She had to hunt other men to satisfy her urge. 

The longer she and Tolys were together, Natalya soon realized that Tolys would do  _ anything  _ to make her happy. He was a pleaser. And so she started pulling the strings, manipulated his every move, isolating him from his friends and making him a worshipper of her. It was a game, and it amused Natalya that Tolys would go great lengths to please her. 

Then Feliks came along and ruined  _ everything _ . 

Feliks made Tolys think. Feliks pointed out Natalya’s manipulative tactic. Feliks couldn’t be manipulated. He was a free spirit, a free thinker. He was observant. Though it took him longer than she had first expected, she knew he’d put the pieces together and “rat” her out. 

Natalya  _ hated  _ Feliks. 

With two more tries of calling, Ivan finally picked up the phone. 

“ _ What _ ?” 

“Hi, Vanya. Thank you for answering.” Natalya replied, softly. 

Ivan didn’t reply. 

“Can you meet me at  _ your  _ bar?” 

Ivan sighed. “Why?” 

“I have two fresh catches,” she explained, light heartedly. “And I’m sure they will be a delight.” 

“Боже мой, Natalya,” Ivan muttered, disgusted. “They’re  _ people _ . Don’t talk about them like th--” 

“What? I’m getting rid of that nuisance, Feliks. Tolys has had it coming for a while.” 

Natalya could practically hear Ivan’s blood boiling. “Natalya, you’re  _ not  _ killing Tolys.” 

“Too late; he and Feliks are already in the trunk.” She waited for Ivan to respond, but he kept quiet.  _ Wise choice, Vanya _ . She thought to herself. “So, you’ll meet me at  _ your  _ bar in five minutes, won’t you?” 

There was still no response. 

“I love you, Vanya.” 

Ivan responded by hanging up. Giggling to herself, Natalya threw her phone onto the passenger seat and backed out of the driveway, choosing her routes carefully. 

Ivan reluctantly went to the bar, and nervously opened the door leading to the basement. Moments after they hung up, Natalya specified to meet in the basement in a text message. She claimed it would be the perfect place to prolong torture. Normally, Natalya would do what she had to do, and call Ivan to clean it up. But this time, she wanted him to witness it. 

She wanted him to suffer too. 

Walking down the steps and the long hallway, Ivan came to the room where most of the liquor was kept. Slowly, he opened the door to find Natalya tying an unconscious Tolys to a chair. Opening the door further, he saw that an unconscious Feliks was tied to a table, laying flat on his back. He took a deep breath filled dread as he stepped down the steps and into the room. 

Natalya greeted him with a smile. “Hello, Vanya,” she said, calmly. “Glad you could make it.” 

Ivan frowned. “Like I had a choice,” 

Natalya shrugged, double checking the binding around Tolys who was still unconscious. “True,” She smacked the back of Tolys’ head and smirked. “But you could’ve called for help. You must not care about Tolys in the way you  _ think  _ you do.” 

“Tolys is my  _ friend _ , Nata--” Ivan began. 

“Are you thinking of pulling some kind of stunt, tonight?” Natalya asked, crossing her arms against her chest. “Think wisely, Vanya. Remember, I can take us  _ both  _ down if need be.” 

“I know where you keep your journal,” Ivan mentioned. 

Natalya moved over to another table where most of her knives sat and picked up her journal. “You mean this?” she asked, waving it around. Ivan took a sharp breath and felt his shoulders tense up. “Aw, I’m sorry, big brother. You can thank Feliks here for fucking up your little plan.” As she slammed the journal back on the table, Feliks stirred and groaned. 

“My head…” he whined. He attempted to sit up and looked around. “Tolys?” 

Natalya moved to stand over Feliks, to scare and mock him. “Tolys isn’t awake right now,” she said with a sneer. She then poked his nose. “But once he wakes up, the  _ fun  _ can begin.” 

Feliks squirmed, trying to get out of the binding. “You’re fucking crazy,” he mentioned. “You and that weird brother of yours.” 

Ivan cleared his throat. Feliks looked up, or rather upside down, to see Ivan standing by the door way. “Ah fuck,” he mumbled. “ _ Of course  _ you’re here.” 

“It’s not like I wa--” Ivan began. 

“How should we torture them, Vanya? Hm?” Natalya interrupted, eager to get on with the process. 

“I don’t know, do what you usually do?” Ivan replied. He was itching to leave, but he had never seen his sister in a state like this. She was nearly berserk. 

“No, no, they deserve  _ more  _ than that. They’ve gotten on my last nerve; I think I should draw out the process.” She turned to Feliks and smirked. “What’s your worst fear?” 

“Nothing.” Feliks lied. 

Natalya tilted her head to the side, amused, and walked around Tolys. “I think it’s time for the  _ Puppet _ to wake up now,” she said, gently lifting Tolys’ head up. Then, with great force, she slapped his face so hard that Feliks and even Ivan flinched. Tolys jolted awake and gathered his surroundings. Natalya stood behind him and cradled his face, glaring at Feliks. “How do you feel about Tolys? I sense that you two have... _ feelings  _ for each other.” 

Feliks didn’t answer. 

Natalya laughed. “Not playing my game may have worked out in the real world, but I assure you, it won’t work here,” She yanked Tolys’ hair hard, making him yelp out in pain. “Tell me, Feliks, do you  _ love  _ Tolys?” 

“Y-yes,” Feliks answered, quietly. 

“So you wouldn’t want anything  _ bad  _ to happen to him, right?” 

Feliks looked away. 

“Feliks,” Natalya whispered. She placed her hands over Tolys’ left hand and wrapped them around his index finger. “What did I  _ just  _ say?” 

“Look, I don’t know what’s going on in that twisted mind of yours, but please, you don’t have to do  _ any  _ of this!” Feliks shouted. 

“Very well,” Natalya sighed. “If you won’t answer me willingly, I guess I’ll have to  _ force  _ it out of you.” As she finished her sentence, she pulled Tolys’ index finger the opposite way, breaking it. A loud crack echoed in the room before Tolys cried out in pain. 

“Stop!!” Feliks shouted, moving about to try to get out of his bindings. It was no use, however. 

“Answer my question, then!” Natalya hissed, breaking Tolys’ middle finger. 

“Stop hurting him! Please!!” Feliks cried. “Hurt me instead!!” 

Holding onto his ring finger, Natalya smiled. “See? Was that so hard?” She leaned down to look at Tolys, giggling as tears ran down his face from the pain. “Tolys, now I have a question for you: do you  _ love  _ Feliks?” 

“Yes!” Tolys answered. 

“Hm. Next question: did you  _ cheat  _ on me?” 

Tolys hesitated, trying to control his breathing. “Yes.” 

“Tsk, tsk,” Natalya smirked. “Unfortunate.” With another yank, she broke his ring finger and moved quickly to break his pinky as well. Before she could move to break his fingers on his other hand, Ivan pulled her away, pushing her up against the wall. 

“Stop it!” he hissed. “You have no right to do this to Tolys when  _ you’ve  _ cheated on him also!” 

Tolys froze.  _ She cheated on me? When? _

Natalya rolled her eyes. “That’s different. I only did it to lure in victims because  _ you _ wouldn’t let me kill Tolys!” She pushed her brother away from her. “Besides, it’s not like I ever had sex with a woman. Tolys had sex with another man...or with  _ whatever  _ Feliks is.” 

She then started to walk over to the knife table, but Ivan pushed her back again. “Natalya,  _ listen to me _ ; this can all stop.” 

Natalya narrowed her eyes. “I’m confused. I thought you didn’t mind me killing people.”

“I--” Ivan began to protest. 

“You had no problem with me killing all of those other  _ puppets _ , what makes Tolys any different?” she continued. 

“How many people have you killed?” Feliks asked. 

Natalya shrugged, casually. “I lost count ages ago.” 

“Tolys is our friend. He’s  _ my  _ friend. Those other people, we didn’t really know them.” Ivan stated. 

“So what, people you don’t know don’t matter, but suddenly  _ one _ person does?” Natalya scoffed. “ _ All _ lives are dumb and pointless. Tolys is just another one to the pile, Vanya.” She then smiled and took Ivan’s hands, holding on to them. “If you want, we can preserve Tolys somehow. Would that make you happy?” 

Ivan stepped back and shook his head. “Natalya, I-I…” He scrambled for excuses. He didn’t know why killing Tolys ( _ maybe  _ Feliks) was the final straw, but it was. He didn’t want any part of this absurdity anymore. 

But how was he to escape? How was he to help? 

“I need a moment to think,” Ivan concluded. “Do you think you can...wait? For me to come back?” 

Natalya was skeptical. “Where are you going?” 

“I just need a walk. Fresh air. To clear my head. I’m not...I’m not thinking straight.” Ivan clarified. 

Natalya took a deep breath and sighed. “Take all the time you need, Vanya. I know you’re not used to witnessing my work. It’s a lot to take in.” 

Ivan nodded and began to turn away for the exit, but Natalya quickly pulled him back. “Oh, and don’t even  _ think  _ about doing anything  _ stupid _ , Vanya.” she hissed. 

Ivan gulped. “You have my word.” 

Tolys wasn’t calling back and Eduard was getting worried. 

Eduard was sitting at the small dining table, listening to Iryna hum in the kitchen as she was cooking dinner. They both had dropped Raivis back home after they left  ** _Evergreen Gardens_ ** , and Iryna insisted on cooking dinner. Eduard objected once, but relented quickly. He wasn’t going to deny that Iryna was a fantastic cook and she would cook a dinner that was far better than anything he could ever make. 

When Iryna came out with two plates and sat down across from Eduard, she picked at her food. “Are you okay?’ she asked, looking up. 

“I’m fine,” Eduard replied, softly. 

“Did Tolys call back?” 

Shaking his head, Eduard sighed. “No. I’m getting concerned.” 

Iryna set her fork aside, beside her plate, thinking of what to say. “Maybe...something came up? You said Feliks is a performer? Maybe he had a concert or something?” 

Eduard shook his head; he couldn’t explain to Iryna what Feliks’ job really was. He didn’t know how she’d react, for one, and two, she was really only here to see her family and return to Ukraine. He felt that she didn’t need to know  _ everything _ . 

“I usually help Tolys and Feliks book gigs,” Eduard began to explain. “They just got back from London, and as far as I’m concerned, they didn’t have another one so quickly." He excused himself and wandered into the living room, picking up his cellphone. 

As he began dialing Tolys' number, there was a knock on the door. Hesitant, Eduard approached the door and looked through the peephole. There was another knock at the door, sterner and impatient, and Eduard opened the door. There, Ivan stood, fists clenched at his side and his usual smile nowhere to be seen. 

"Is my sister here?" Ivan simply asked. 

"Y-yes?" Eduard answered. 

"I need to speak with her." Ivan added. 

"W-what about?" 

Ivan scowled. "I need to speak with her." 

Before Eduard could insist on knowing what Ivan could possibly want, Iryna stood behind him and gently touched his shoulder. Silently, Eduard relented with a nod, stepping aside. 

"Is everything okay, Vanya?" Iryna asked. 

Ivan glanced at Eduard. "Would you mind coming with me for a minute?" 

"Wh--?" Iryna began. 

"I need to speak with you privately." Ivan concluded. 

Hesitant, Iryna looked over her shoulder at Eduard before stepping outside of the apartment. She closed the door behind her, but left a small opening so that Eduard could try to follow along. 

"I need your help." Ivan said. 

Iryna sighed; leaving a crack in the door was no use; Ivan insisted on speaking in Russian. "With what?" Iryna replied, concerned. 

"Natalya," Ivan answered. "She's...sick. And you were always good at making her...better." 

Iryna looked at her brother with skepticism. " _ How  _ sick is she? Is it a stomach virus? The flu?" 

"She's just sick." 

Iryna laughed nervously. "Vanya, I--" 

"I need you to come with me. Okay? I can't explain it here." Ivan added. 

"I won't know how to help if you don't tell me what's wrong." Iryna stated firmly. 

Ivan took a deep breath and sighed. "Are you coming with me or not?" 

Something seemed off; Natalya had been perfectly fine this morning. She didn't seem to be catching anything. Unsure of what to do, Iryna only nodded and turned back to the door. "Just...let me get my shoes." she mentioned. 

Quickly, she stepped back into the apartment, leaving the door ajar and looked for her shoes. 

“What’s going on?” Eduard asked as quietly as he could. 

“He wants me to help him,” Iryna replied. “He says that Natalya is...sick?” 

Eduard rolled his eyes. “ _ That’s _ his excuse?” he scoffed. He then hesitated. “You’re not going with him, are you?” 

“Of course, I have to!” Iryna answered. “If I turn him down, he’s going to know that  _ I know _ about Natalya.” 

“But how do you know she won’t kill  _ you _ ?” Eduard asked. 

Iryna hesitated. “I trust that Ivan wouldn’t let that happen.” She put her hands on Eduard’s shoulders for support as she put on her shoes. “You’ll follow behind, right? Have the authorities ready on speed dial?” 

Eduard nodded; he felt better about that idea. For everyone’s safety; if Natalya had captured Tolys and Feliks, they would need help. “Okay, I’ll be right behind.” he said, grabbing his keys. “Did he specify what’s going on?” 

Iryna shook her head. “No, he wouldn’t tell me anything.” 

There was an angry knock at the door, followed by the door creaking open a little bit. “Iryna?” Ivan said in a perturbed tone. 

“Coming!” Iryna hollered over her shoulder. She turned back to Eduard. “Keep a safe distance away from us.” she added before walking away. Stepping out of the apartment, she gave one last glance over her shoulder and tried to give a reassuring smile. 

The second the door clicked shut, Eduard scrambled to put on his shoes, gather his notes and find his car keys. 

The car ride was rather short and quiet. Iryna felt that she should have started a conversation numerous times, but she had no words to say. She had no idea what she was about to see, she had no idea where Ivan was taking her, and she had no idea what was wrong with Natalya. 

She prayed that it was something minor. 

Ivan parked the car in front of a bar and turned the car off. He sat still for a while, staring off in the distance. “Do you think we would have been normal if our parents hadn’t been shot dead?” he suddenly asked. 

Iryna was shocked by the question; how was she to answer it? “There are too many factors to think of,” she replied. “We would be different people today, for certain.” 

“Do you think we would have been better off? Better people?” Ivan clarified. 

“I’m not sure how to answer that, Vanya.” Iryna paused. “As much as I wish the three of us could have grown up together, I would not trade growing up in Ukraine for the world. My adoptive parents loved me and raised me well. I wouldn’t be the person I am now without them.” 

“I see,” Ivan opened the door and stepped out of the car, making his way to the entrance of the bar. Iryna followed suit, looking around to see if Eduard was closeby before following her brother inside the building. The location was odd; if Natalya was feeling unwell, why was she at a bar, of all places?

Quietly, Ivan opened the door leading to the basement, turning to his sister. “Promise me you’ll be as quiet as can be.” he muttered. 

“Will you  _ please  _ tell me what’s going on?” Iryna demanded. 

“Natalya is crazy. I don’t know what’s wrong with her,” Ivan answered. There was a stray pipe laying next to the door frame, left there from some renovations that had been made. Ivan picked it up and carried it along with him. “Maybe you can help.” 


	18. Survival

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: This chapter is INCREDIBLY violent. If that is something that may bother you, please consider skipping this chapter onto the next.

While Ivan was gone, Natalya took it upon herself to sharpen her knives and browse through the new refrigerator that had been placed in the basement. Discovering a sandwich, she took it and began eating it. Astonished, Tolys and Feliks watched her in silence, dumbfounded that she seemed to be acting as if nothing was wrong. 

“Hungry, Tolys?” Natalya asked. She held out the sandwiched and pouted in a mocking manner. 

“No, t-thank you.” Tolys answered. 

“I’m hung--” Feliks started. 

“Oh come on, Tolys. You must be starving. You were going to order pizza after all. I interrupted that, didn’t I?” Natalya said. She stood next to him and held the sandwich in his face. “Come on, take a bite. You deserve that much, given that you’re going to die.” 

“I  _ said _ , no thank you.” Tolys reiterated. 

“Can I have it?!” Feliks asked. 

Rolling her eyes, Natalya turned to look at him. “ _ No _ .” she hissed. Walking away from Tolys, she tossed the half-eaten sandwich into the trash bin. The room went painfully silent, and Tolys fidgeted in his seat, wincing in pain from his hand. 

“Natalya,” he pleaded. “We won’t tell anyone who you are. We promise. Please, just let us go.” 

Natalya snorted. “Try harder.” 

Tolys gulped, panicking. “Please, I meant no harm in what I said this morning. Okay?” 

Natalya smirked, picking up a knife. “I think I’ll start with Feliks first,” she mentioned, still ignoring Tolys. “I think you should know what it’s like to have a broken heart, Tolys. Especially before you die.” 

“Like you would even know,” Feliks scoffed. “You weren’t born with a heart, were you?” 

“Anatomically speaking, yes, I was born with one,” Natalya replied, stepping closer and closer to Feliks. “But, what would you call it?  _ Emotionally  _ speaking?” She laughed. “No, I never had one.” 

Feliks squirmed on the table. “I-is there a specific reason for that?” 

“It’s really none of your business,” Natalya whispered, widening her smile. She caressed Feliks’ cheek, letting her hand fall onto his chest. “I think I’ll carve you open, like a chicken. I’ll break your ribs and stab your still beating heart while you scream for mercy. And poor little Tolys will have to watch you die.” She giggled. “It’s  _ his  _ dumb fault for falling in love with a man, anyways.  _ So foolish _ .” 

“There’s gotta be something you liked about us,” Feliks added, trying to stall her. “Or, Tolys at least? Like, you two had good times, right?” He looked at Tolys, hoping he would jump in. 

“Y-yes. Remember that trip t-to Minsk? It was nice to sightsee and to see the house you grew up in.” Tolys mentioned. 

“I  _ hated everything  _ about that trip,” Natalya hissed, stepping towards Tolys. “The only thing you were good for, Tolys, was sex. Surprisingly, all of that anxiety you carry, all of that worry, manifests itself positively to you being really good in bed. Well, until you  _ weren’t _ .” 

“Because you’d belittle me! You’d make fun of me! You’d make sure I couldn’t--” Tolys shouted. 

“Tolys,” Feliks said, trying to stay calm. “She’s doing this on purpose. You have to stop giving her what she wants.” 

Listening to Feliks’ words, Tolys closed his eyes and took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself down. There was no point in arguing with Natalya, for she would  _ always  _ have the upper hand. This was her specialty, she was a master of manipulating people for her own entertainment. Fighting was pointless. 

There was nothing else to do. 

“Do your worst,” Tolys mumbled, defeated. “Whatever you’re going to do to us, just do it.” 

Intrigued, Natalya tilted her head to the side, smirking. “Giving up so soon, hm? That’s a shame. But then again, you never lasted as long as I wanted.” she said. Turning around, with her hands behind her back, she approached Feliks. She towered over him, her hair shading the light from her face, making her smile more eerie. “Well then, are you ready to say goodbye?” 

Feliks gulped, but tried to think of something witty to say. “If it means I don’t have to look at your ugly face, then yeah. Bye.” 

Natalya scowled. “Ugly? Haven’t you seen yourself in the mirror?” 

“Yeah, and I look hot as fuck. Unlike some other people I know. Are you going to kill me or what?” 

Annoyed, Natalya quickly lifted the knife over her head and was ready to plunge it deep into Feliks’ chest, which would kill him instantly. As she lowered the knife, the door to the basement swung open, ultimately distracting her and causing her to miss. The knife landed just beside Feliks face, resulting in both him and Tolys screaming. 

Stepping into the room was Ivan, and right behind him was Iryna. Infuriated, Natalya yanked the knife out from the table and scowled at her siblings, holding back her initial anger. 

“Wow! What a funny prank! I sure love pranks!” Feliks shouted. He laughed nervously, trying to ignore the fact that his heart was practically pounding out of his chest. “Oh man, you sure got me!”

With one quick motion, Natalya slapped Feliks’ face forcefully. “Shut up!!” she hissed. Taking a deep breath, she turned to her brother, stepping closer with the knife pointed towards him. "Vanya," she said. "What was it that I told you  _ not  _ to do?" 

"I wanted to remind you of the family you have," Ivan said. "We don't have to do this anymore!" 

"You think I do all of this because of our  _ family issues _ ?" Natalya scoffed. 

"It might not be the exact reason, but it is a part of it." Ivan concluded. 

Natalya laughed. "You  _ must  _ be joking! I already have the family I need, and that's you, Vanya!"

“ _ And  _ Iryna.” Ivan added, looking at his older sister. 

Natalya wrinkled her nose in disgust, stepping closer to her brother. It was clear that her intimidation skills failed to work on Ivan, as he was that much taller than her. “This doesn’t involve her,” she hissed. “If I wanted her here, I would have asked her all those years back.” 

Ivan took a step back, staring at his sister in disbelief. “You  _ what _ ?” 

“You heard me,” Natalya continued. “This isn’t about our fucked up family. If I wanted Iryna to ruin what we have together, I would have told you where she was sooner!” 

“You  _ knew  _ where she was?! All this time?!” With fists clenched, Ivan looked away, trying to collect himself. “I don’t understand you, Natalya. Iryna would never do any harm to us; if anything, she’d bring us all together and--”

“She’s the one who separated us in the  _ first  _ place.” Natalya interrupted. 

Iryna finally stepped between the two of them. “Natalya, I tried everything I could to keep us together.” 

“ _ No _ ,” Natalya pointed the knife to her sister. “You let those two adopt me. You  _ let  _ them take me away from both of you.” 

“I was nine years old!!” Iryna argued. “There was only so much I could--”

“Not good enough.” 

Iryna took a deep breath, stepping back. Natalya inched closer to her, refusing to put the knife away. “I was promised that you would be taken care of. The Arlovsky family had money, and they could get you the help you needed.” She paused. “Did they try to help you?” 

Before Natalya could answer, Feliks cleared his throat. “Hey, um, I know it sounds like this is an important family argument right now, but could someone, like, untie us maybe?” he said, cautiously. 

Ivan pushed Iryna aside and forced Natalya to lower the knife. “Yes, perhaps we can say this is all a misunderstanding,” he said. “I believe my sister is upset because Tolys said some harsh words to her.” He turned to Tolys and smiled. “I’m sure Tolys didn’t mean it.” 

Tolys kept quiet, keeping his head low. 

“Tolys? Could you apologize to Natalya,  _ please _ ?” Ivan added, trying to lighten his tone. 

Tolys looked up at him with a blank expression; there was no emotion behind his eyes. He was done. “Why?” he asked. 

“Why? Why apologize?” Ivan was stunned. This was unlike Tolys. “Because it’ll make Natalya feel better and all of this can go away.” 

Tolys shook his head. “I’m not apologizing. I meant what I said to her.” 

“No you di--”

“ _ Every _ word.” Tolys confirmed. “Besides, it’s not like she’s ever apologized to me. Or to Feliks. So why should I even show any kindness to her ever again?” 

“Tolys,” Ivan said, a bit sterner this time. “I need you to take back what you said. And I need you to take Natalya back.” 

“Take her back?!” Tolys yelled. “Why the  _ fuck  _ would I take her back?! She’s a  _ serial killer _ for fuck’s sake!! She broke my fingers!! She wants me  _ dead _ !! Are you delusional?!” 

The room went silent for a moment. While both Ivan and Natalya were facing Tolys, Iryna had moved closer to where Feliks was and, with shaky hands, did her best to loosen the rope that tied him down. Feliks watched her with skepticism. 

“What are you doing?” he asked, whispering. 

“Trying to help.” Iryna replied. 

Feliks hesitated. “How can I trust you when you’re with  _ them _ ?” 

“Because I’ve only arrived here just today, and I don’t know who you or the other man are. I want this to end just as much as you do.” she explained. 

Nodding, Feliks glanced to Tolys. “Thanks, but I’m not leaving without him.” 

Iryna looked over in the same direction as well, nodding. “I’ll do my best. Stay put, okay?” Straightening herself, Iryna slowly approached her siblings, looking over Natalya’s shoulder. From the looks of it, Tolys was distraught, and rightfully so. She didn’t know much about the whole story, but she felt horrible for him. 

No one deserved this kind of pain that her siblings were putting him through. 

“Tolys, we’re friends,” Ivan continued. “Can’t you do this for me? It will make everything better, I promise.” 

“ _ Friends _ ?” Tolys hissed. “I’m not your  _ friend _ , Ivan, and you’re not mine either. If we were friends, you wouldn’t have put me through this!” 

“That’s not true,” Ivan started. 

“It is! It is true! You act as if you’re better than your sister, but the fact of the matter is, you’re  _ just  _ as sick as she is! If not more so! You enjoy this!!” Tolys continued. 

“How dare you!” Ivan took a fistful of Tolys’ hair to force him to look at him. “I am  _ nothing  _ like her!” 

Tolys laughed. “If you didn’t get some sort of enjoyment out of this, you would have turned your sister in a long time ago. This is all some sort of...sick game of yours!” 

“Stop it!” Ivan hissed, scowling. “This isn’t like you at all!” 

“ _ Look _ at yourself, Ivan,” Tolys said. “You’re just as manipulative as she is! You put others in pain to get what you want!! You’re just  _ like  _ her.” He began laughing. “Besides, she used you just as much as you used her.”

Releasing his grip on Tolys’ hair, Ivan stepped back, listening to Tolys’ words. Looking at his youngest sister, remembering all of the work he had done for his sister. First, the burial of her first victims, then the planning out of the first “puppet” she hung up. She had wanted him here to see the whole process of torturing and killing so that he would  _ know  _ how to do it. The cover stories, lurking on the dating sites to give her another victim. Hell, he had even put Tolys with Natalya, knowing his eventual fate. 

It had been satisfying to know that men who would cheat on their girlfriends and wives or were good-for-nothing would die at Natalya’s hand. After all, she was making more room for better people in the world. 

Natalya clapped her hands together, smirking. “This has been the most entertaining show I’ve seen in a  _ long  _ time,” she said, happily. “Where has this Tolys been all this time? So bold? So wise? So confident?” 

Tolys looked away, refusing to answer her. 

“Oh,” Natalya sighed. “I guess the show’s over. Well then, time to say goodbye to your lover.” Turning around, she bumped into Iryna and groaned. “ _ Move _ .” 

Iryna lifted her head up, trying to make herself taller. The only way to stand up to her was to act as if you were not afraid. “What happened to you that night?” she asked, calmly. 

Natalya scowled. “I said  _ move _ .” 

“You never told me. Not when we were kids and not when we met in Kyiv.” Iryna added. 

Natalya huffed and crossed her arms. “Nothing happened that night.” she answered, knowing what Iryna was referring to.

Iryna nodded and decided to rephrase the question. “What did you see?” 

“Get out of my way, Iryna.” Natalya growled. 

Finally, Iryna stepped aside and watched as her sister walked past her, standing beside Feliks. She took a deep breath. “I know what I saw. I saw our mother laying on the bed after she had been raped, dead. Our father sat at the foot of the bed, chained to the radiator, and had been forced to watch.” She paused. “That sight alone has scarred me for years, Natalya, and I only saw the aftermath. You were in that house before I was; you must’ve seen it all.” 

“I saw nothing.” Natalya insisted, with her back to her sister. Iryna knew she was lying.

Slowly, Iryna stepped behind Tolys and loosened the rope that tied him to the chair. Ivan watched her, but said nothing. “What about the hitman? How did he fall to his death?” she asked. 

“If you don’t shut up, I’ll kill you too.” Natalya hissed. Looking down at Feliks, she lifted the knife over her head, ready to strike for the kill. 

Quickly stepping away from Tolys, Iryna put her hands behind her back. “You don’t scare me, Natalya,” she stated. Natalya turned, glaring at her sister. “I have dealt with far too much in life to be scared of you.” 

Natalya laughed. “Oh yeah?” 

“Yes,” Iryna stepped closer so that she could see Feliks. “I found my parents dead. My brother and sister were taken away from me. My first husband, whom I loved very much, died too young as an alcoholic. My second husband swore at me, beat me, forced himself upon me. It took everything I had to get rid of him. Now, this. I have seen  _ everything _ .” She swallowed. “So yes, you don’t scare me.” 

A smirk came upon Natalya’s lips. “Very well then,” she whispered. “I suppose you’re not afraid to die.” 

Standing still for a moment, she soon lunged at her older sister, ready to make her shut up for good. Her swift motion was short lived, however. Ivan had moved just as quick, wrapping his arm around Natalya’s neck, strangling her. The knife in Natalya’s hand fell, landing with a loud clang. Grasping at his arm, Natalya gasped for air and kicked Ivan’s shin, in hopes of him letting her go. 

Instead, he tightened his grip. 

“Go, Iryna!” Ivan shouted. 

Astonished, Ivan’s words hadn’t yet processed in Iryna’s mind. “W-what?” 

“Go! Get out of here!” 

Without hesitation, Iryna rushed out of the basement and made her way back up to the main floor. As quick as she could, she ran through the main entrance door and, tripping over her own feet, stumbled to the ground. Her heart was pounding out of her chest as she sat still, catching her breath. 

She had, once again, managed to avoid death. 

“Iryna!!” 

Upon hearing her name, Iryna looked up to see Eduard racing towards her. Taking her arm, he helped her up to her feet. “What happened?!” he then asked. 

“Natalya…” she muttered. “Ivan...they both…” She shook her head. “She almost killed me, Eduard.” 

“What about Tolys and Feliks? Are they okay?” Eduard questioned. 

Iryna hesitated. “I loosened their bindings,” she replied. “They should be able to escape.” She paused, catching her breath. “We need to call for help.” 

“Already did; don’t you hear the sirens?” Eduard mentioned. Iryna soon heard the wailing cries of the ambulance, firetrucks and the police. Looking down the street, she saw the flashing lights approaching them.

“I called as soon as I got here.” He watched her closely. “Iryna, are you--”

“I’m okay,” she answered too quickly. The emergency vehicles pulled up to the curb; the police were the first to leave their vehicles and rushed into the bar. “I’m always okay.” 

When he was sure Iryna was gone, Ivan let go of Natalya, watching her collapse to the floor. She gasped loudly for air as she crawled on the floor, reaching for her knife. Ivan gently kicked it further away from her.

She looked up to him, snarling. “What do you think you’re doing?!” 

“Tolys is right, isn’t he?” Ivan asked. “You’ve been using me?” 

Natalya sneered. “Did you think you could control me,  _ big brother _ ? You can’t control anyone.” Snatching the knife, she used the table to stand up. “Everyone runs away from you. Everyone is scared of you. No one wants to be friends. You're cruel and distant, just like me. I’m all you have. Poor, poor Vanya.” 

“I wished you stayed away,” Ivan muttered. “You’re evil.” 

“So are you.” she whispered. She huffed, blowing her disheveled hair out of her face. “Now, are you going to help me kill them or what?” 

“No,” Ivan answered. “I think we should let them go.” 

Natalya scowled. “Since when were you  _ ever  _ the righteous hero?” 

“A man can change his mind, can’t he?” 

Natalya frowned. Her breathing had slowed down as she had collected herself as she stared at her reflection in the knife. “Fine,” she muttered, walking towards Feliks. “Be that way.  _ Coward _ .” 

Before she could realize it, Feliks was able to shake loose the ropes around his legs and kick Natalya square in the face. Natalya stumbled backwards, dropping her knife once again. Rolling off of the table, Feliks pulled off the remaining ropes that clung to him and scrambled to his feet. 

He looked to Tolys. “This our chance!” he said, making his way to the exit. 

Hesitating, Tolys looked to Natalya, who was wiping blood away from her nose. As fast as he could with one hand, he pulled the rope off of him and stood up, only to trip on the remaining rope around his feet. Ivan helped him to his feet, but Tolys immediately pulled away. 

“Don’t touch me!” he hissed. 

Without a word, Ivan stepped away. 

“Where do you think you’re going?!” Natalya shouted, picking up the knife. 

Tolys had been too slow, and Feliks knew what he was about to witness. His heart couldn’t take it, not especially after they had been so close to escaping. Instinctively, he pushed Tolys out of Natalya’s path, taking his place. The act happened quick enough before either Natalya or Tolys could realize what had occurred. Natalya drove the knife into his abdomen and upon realizing what had happened, gave a twisted grin. 

“ _ Fool _ .” she whispered in Feliks’ ear. “You absolute  _ fool _ . You could’ve gotten away.” 

Feliks clung to her, attempting to stop her from pulling away. “I'm not a selfish bitch like you,” he muttered. 

Natalya huffed, yanking the knife out and took a few steps back, watching Feliks collapse to the floor. “And look where selfless got you,” she mumbled, tilting her head to the side. 

Sitting up, Tolys turned and gasped in horror. Blood bloomed through Feliks’ shirt as he slouched over, trying his best to put pressure on his wound to slow the bleeding. “Feliks!!” Struggling to crawl over towards him due to his broken hand, Tolys moved next to his lover and did his best to apply pressure to the wound. 

“I’m fine,” Feliks assured. He was lying, but he put on his best smile. 

Tolys shook his head. “Why did you do that?!” he cried. “I was ready to--” 

“Shh,” Feliks hushed. He caressed Tolys’ cheek but immediately regretted it as he had accidentally put blood on his face. “It’s okay.” 

“No, no, no, no, no,” Tolys repeated over and over. “We have to get you out of here--”

“Or you could just die as well.” Natalya chimed in. Looking up, Tolys saw that she was standing over him, her long hair falling over her face. She grinned. “Since, I’m guessing, you were eager to do so, Tolys.” 

“Because that’s what this has always been about for you, isn’t it?” Tolys hissed, looking up at her. “You always wanted to kill  _ me _ .” 

“Yes, but he has to die too,” Natalya giggled, leaning over him. “It’s  _ your _ torture, after all.” Before she could do or say anything more, Ivan pulled her away from the two of them, attempting to take the knife away from her. Struggling to break free, Natalya groaned as she aggressively tried to pull away from her brother. “Let me go!!” she hissed. 

“It’s over, Natalya!” Ivan shouted. 

Finally breaking free from her brother’s grasp, Natalya turned to glare at him, tightening her grip on the knife. “It’s not over until I  _ say  _ it’s over.” she muttered through her teeth. With a quick motion of her arm, she swung the knife at him, but missed narrowly. Ivan took a couple of steps back, reaching for the stray metal pipe he had brought with him earlier. 

“I’m sure the authorities have been called by now,” he said. “Iryna has probably already made the call.” 

Natalya scowled, slowly stepping forward. “How could you betray  _ me _ ? I’ve  _ always  _ been there for you, Vanya. Why are you loyal to  _ her _ ? She’s done nothing for us but  _ abandoned  _ us.” 

“She has a heart,” Ivan stated. “She’s everything we  _ should  _ have been.” 

“ _ Traitor _ ,” Natalya whispered. “Traitor!” 

“Face it, Natalya. It’s over,” He tapped the pipe in his left palm a couple of times. “It’s over. It’s time for us to face the consequences.” 

Angry with Ivan’s sudden change of heart, Natalya swung the knife again, aiming for his face. Ivan was able to block her attack by using the pipe as a shield. The room was soon filled with the constant rhythm of metal hitting against metal as brother and sister fought. 

The fighting, though only lasting a couple of seconds, felt like an eternity to Tolys and Feliks. They both watched wide-eyed, unsure of who they wanted to “win.” Either way, they both were doomed. 

With a loud scream, Natalya forced the pipe out of Ivan’s hands and kicked it away from them. The pipe rolled over towards where Feliks and Tolys sat. Glancing at each other, Tolys and Feliks said nothing. 

“Natalya,” Ivan said, calmly. He was slowly backing away as she approached him, the knife pointed forward. “Listen to me…”

“ _ No _ ,” Natalya hissed. “You listen to  _ me _ . I’ve always been loyal to you. I’ve always  _ loved  _ you. Together, we were a team. Disposing the world of  _ useless  _ men. Together, we could’ve had everything.” 

“Nata--” Ivan began. He held up his hands in front of him, half in surrender, half in defense. 

“You can lie, as I know you will, and say that you never enjoyed it. But I  _ know  _ you did. I  _ know  _ the  _ truth _ .” 

“Don’t put words in my mouth!” Ivan hissed. He quickly reached for her wrist to try to continue to persuade her, but she caught onto his motive. 

All it took was one swift motion and there was blood rushing down Ivan’s shoulder. Starting from just under his jaw, Natalya had sliced the knife in an upward motion towards his ear. It was a cut that certainly wouldn’t kill him, quickly, but it would certainly send a message. 

Clutching onto his wound, Ivan stumbled backwards into the wall behind him and slid down to the floor. He looked up at his sister in disbelief, glancing at his hand that was now covered in blood. 

Natalya tilted her head and sneered. “Maybe  _ now _ you’ll reconsider your act of heroism,” she whispered. “Think of a good apology,  _ big brother _ , and I’ll spare you.” 

Before Ivan could say anything, there was a high pitched “ding” that echoed through the room, as if metal was hitting against something. At first, Ivan believed it to have been a figment of his imagination. But suddenly, Natalya collapsed to the ground, laying on her right side, unconscious. Looking up, he saw Tolys standing over him, holding the pipe in his blood stained, unbroken hand. 

“You’re welcome.” Tolys muttered, tossing the pipe towards Ivan. 

Lethargically, Tolys crouched back down next to Feliks, tending to the worsening wound. Gently, Tolys moved Feliks closer to him. To say Feliks didn’t look good was an understatement; his skin had gotten quite pale in a matter of minutes and his shirt was completely drenched in blood. He slumped in Tolys’ lap, clinging onto life as best as he could. 

“Tolys,” he muttered softly. “I need to tell you something.” 

“Shh,” Tolys hushed. “Everything’s going to be okay. Help  _ has  _ to be on the way a-and you’re going to be fine…”

“Tolys,” Feliks repeated, pleading this time. 

“We’re going to be okay, everything’s going to be okay.” 

Swallowing, Feliks took a deep breath. “Tolys,  _ listen _ ,” he said. “I need you to know something before--”

“Don’t,” Tolys whispered. “Don’t say it. You’re going to be okay.” 

Reaching up, Feliks put his hand on Tolys’ cheek, forcing him to look at him. “I love you.” he whispered. 

Nodding, Tolys pressed his forehead against Feliks’, a few tears falling from his cheeks. “I love you too.” 

Feliks smiled, as he lowered his arm back down to his side. “I needed you to know. I needed you to know before...” His breathing was getting heavy and it was getting harder and harder to keep his eyes open. “I think I’m gonna take a nap. It’s been a long day…”

“No, no,” Tolys did his best to try to move Feliks, but it was too hard with a broken hand. “Feliks, you have to keep your eyes open.” 

“But I’m tired…” 

“You have to stay with me.” Panicked, Tolys looked around the room, trying to think of a way to help Feliks out of the room. He glanced at Ivan, who was still in shock from everything that happened, and sighed. The small window that sat high up on the basement ceiling that looked out to the ground level. Through it, Tolys could see the flashing lights of emergency vehicles. “Help is here, we’re going to be okay.” he added, shaking Feliks awake. 

“Huh?” Feliks mumbled, eyes fluttering open. 

“Just...stay with me. Don’t fall asleep, okay?” Tolys assured. He heard heavy footsteps above them, a sign that authorities were searching the bar to make sure everything was clear. Soon, the footsteps faded away, and Tolys grew impatient. Knowing he needed to do something to make them come to the right direction, he began screaming for help. He shouted and yelled as loud as he could; he did not care if it ruined his voice forever. 

They needed to get out before Natalya woke back up. 

Soon, the door burst open and the police officer who had broken down the door ordered everyone to freeze. Upon seeing that too many people were too injured to do anything, he relaxed for a second before speaking into his transceiver calmly. 

“We need medics down here ASAP.” 

“Please,” Tolys pleaded, struggling to get on his feet. “Help him. You have to help him.” 

The police officer nodded as others came into the room to see the status of everything. There was a muffled voice that came through his transceiver and he listened closely. “There’s a man here with a wound in his abdomen. He’s bleeding out pretty badly and needs immediate care.” His eyes scanned the room again. “There’s another man who’s bleeding, but I’m unsure if he’s been stabbed or cut. And there’s a woman unconscious on the floor.” 

Half conscious, Feliks snapped his fingers and pointed to Tolys. “Him...broken hand.” he rambled. 

“It’s not that bad,” Tolys muttered, glancing at his twisted fingers. 

The police officer sighed. “For fuck’s sake,” he groaned. “There’s also someone with a fucked up hand.” He paused, listening to the orders of the person on the other end. “Got it,” He and the other officers moved out of the way to let the paramedics through. Gently and quickly, they were able to get him onto a stretcher, carrying him out of the room as quickly as possible. 

As they left, more paramedics came in on the scene, doing their best to clean up a terrible mess that had been created. 


	19. Life

_ Hey, Mom. It’s me, Feliks. You remember? Your baby boy?  _

“How deep is the wound? Are any organs damaged?” 

“There may be some. We need to get the bleeding to stop, though. He’s lost so much already.” 

_ I miss you a lot, Mom. Everyday, I’ve thought about how I could reunite with you and Papa. Dark thoughts, I know, right? Not like me at all. I’m supposed to be happy like the kid I was years ago. That’s what my name means anyway, right? Happy?  _

“How’s his heart rate?” 

“Dangerously low, but it’s workable.” 

“Do we have any blood for a transfusion?” 

“Yes,”

“Quickly, get it set up.” 

_ Life just wears you down, you know? I’ve always been that  _ weird  _ kid. I’m sure you remember. But you had always been there to pick me up. You understood me. You’d tell me that it didn’t matter what the world thought of me. You’d tell me that there was only one person like me, and that was myself. You told me I’d always have a home and that you loved me no matter how different I was. And I tried to remember your words, but each year you were gone, it got harder and harder to remember.  _

“Shit, shit, shit, we’re losing him!” 

_ One day, the pain got to be too much. I was walking home after a gig, and some cowards beat me up. I get it; they only do it because I make them feel insecure about themselves.  _

_ Understanding that doesn’t make the bruises go away any faster.  _

_ I quit drag, even though performing has always been my passion. I spent too much money, even though I know my therapist told me years ago that impulse shopping is a terrible road to tread. I lost my apartment. I lost everything. I wanted to talk to you again, but you’re gone because of me. If I had never gotten sick, you’d still be here.  _

_ I thought about it. Dying. I really did.  _

“Fuck! Start doing CPR. Someone get the defibrillator.” 

_ But you know I couldn’t go through with it.  _

“Clear!!” 

_ I’m dramatic, but I’m not  _ that _ dramatic.  _

“Clear!!” 

_ It’s silly, and you’re gonna laugh, Mom. But I met a boy. Well, really, a man. But remember when I would tell you after school about the boys who were cute? Good times, right?  _

_ Anyways, I met a man. Probably the kindest guy I’ve ever met. Like, really. He helped me get back on my feet when he didn’t have to. He travelled with me, helped me advertise, we became friends. And you know me, I fall easily for the ones who are too nice to me.  _

“Anything?” 

“There was a heartbeat for a moment but--” 

_ I didn’t think he’d catch feelings back for me. He was in a relationship with, I’m not going to deny it, a pretty woman. A pretty, but  _ fucked up _ , woman. They’d been together longer than he and I ever knew each other. And yet, we seemed to have fallen pretty hard for each other.  _

_ Right?? I know, it’s crazy.  _

“We have to try one more time.” 

“But--”

“Clear!!” 

_ Did I tell you his name? Oh, I forgot to tell you. His name is Tolys. And he makes me happy. This is cheesy, but as soon as I see his face, I smile. Hearing his voice makes my heart jump for joy. And in the moment he first held me in his arms, I wanted to cry because for so long, I never thought I’d find him.  _

_ Especially  _ here _ .  _

“Clear!!” 

_ I hope you forgive me. I’m sorry for making you and Papa come home that night. I want to see you both again. But...now that I’ve found happiness again, I want to stay. I want to keep performing again and again. I want to stay with Tolys.  _

_ I want to live again.  _

_ One day, I know we’ll see each other again. We’ll get to talk and laugh just like we used to. You’ll get to meet Tolys, too.  _

_ I think.  _

_ Is that how heaven works? I asked a priest one time and he didn’t even know. What’s the point of being a priest if you don’t know??  _

_ Anyways, see you soon. Love you. _

“Clear!” The male paramedic was about to press the defibrillator on Feliks’ chest again, but was stopped by his coworker. 

“Wait!!” she shouted. 

Everyone in the ambulance went silent as they heard the soft mechanical beep from the monitor, keeping track of the rhythmic timing of a human heartbeat. 

Tolys was the first to step out of his room. 

Still in shock, he moved slowly and lethargically. He was still trying to process everything that happened. It was practically a miracle that he had made it out alive. In the moment, he had accepted his fate to die. But when he watched Feliks make a run for it, he had a burst of adrenaline and did his best to run as well. But he had been clumsy, stumbled, and as a result, Feliks took Natalya’s knife in order to save him. 

Needless to say, Tolys felt guilty. 

With splints on each finger, he slowly walked down the long hallway to the waiting room where both Eduard and Iryna sat, along with two detectives across from them. 

“Tolys Lauranitis, I presume?” one of the detectives asked. 

“Yes,” Tolys answered reluctantly. 

The detective offered a hand. “I’m Detective--”

Tolys turned to Eduard. “Have you seen Feliks?” he asked. He didn’t intend to be rude, but his mind was foggy and all he could think about was if Feliks had made it or not. 

Eduard shook his head. “I haven’t heard anything. I’m sorry.” he answered, solemnly. 

“Mr. Lauranitis, we would like to ask you some questions about this whole situation,” the detective began. 

“Don’t call me that,” Tolys mumbled. 

“Call you what?” 

“Mr. Lauranitis,” He turned around and wandered to the doorway of the waiting room. “It makes me sound like a boring, old guy.” 

“I’m sorry. You prefer us to call you Tolys?” The detective paused. “I know you’re worried about your friend, Tolys. But we need some answers. The sooner you tell us your story, the more accurate it will be.” 

Tolys turned back around, staring at the detective blankly. “I’m sorry, my story for what?” 

“Y-your testimony of this incident. About the Puppeteer. We’re trying to confirm which sibling was doing most of the work.” 

“Does it matter? Natalya and Ivan both belong in jail.” Tolys stated, bluntly. 

The detective laughed nervously. “We would appreciate it if you cooperated, Tolys. We need to confirm who--” 

“I can’t,” Tolys turned away again. All he could think of was Feliks and if he had survived. “Not now.” 

“Sir, we--” 

The other detective tapped his partner on the shoulder and shook his head. “He’s still in shock. Let’s give him some time. We can’t force a testimony out of him when he’s like this.” 

Hesitant, the first detective glanced at Tolys and nodded. “Alright. We’ll check back with you later, Tolys. If you change your mind, we’ll be just down the hall.” 

As the detectives left the room, Iryna stood up and hesitantly approached Tolys. “I’m so sorry about your friend,” she said. 

Tolys blinked a couple of times in confusion. He remembered seeing her in the basement, remembered her voice, but he couldn’t place a name. “I’m sorry...who are you?” he asked. 

“Don’t be,” Iryna took a deep breath. “I’m Iryna. I’m...Ivan and Natalya’s older sister.” 

“Oh,” He thought for a second. It was starting to come back to him. “You...helped us, didn’t you?” 

Iryna nodded. “I tried,” She swallowed. “I wish I could have done more. My siblings…”

“You did enough.” Tolys said. 

There was a soft tap on the door and a nurse stepped in. “I’m sorry to interrupt,” she said, softly. “I wanted to let you all know that your friend, Mr. Łukasiewicz, has stabilized.” 

“Can I see him?” Tolys asked, rushing up to the nurse. 

“W-well, he’s not awake ye--” she began. 

“Can I  _ see him _ ?” 

She hesitated. “Are you a family member?” 

Tolys froze; he was never much of a liar, but if it would get him to see Feliks...

“Feliks is my cousin,” Eduard said, standing up. Tolys stared at him, knowing well that he was lying. However, he was thankful that Eduard had been quick on his feet to come up with some fake story. “A distant cousin. And Tolys is like family to us.” 

The nurse looked at him skeptically, but did not ask any further questions. “You can follow me then.” 

Tolys followed the nurse closely out of the waiting room, anxious to see Feliks. He didn’t know what he would see, if there would be endless wires from machines hooked up to Feliks as they kept him alive. The thought of someone who was cheerful to go at a terrible fate was heartbreaking. Tolys knew that he would never be able to forgive himself if Feliks didn’t pull through. 

They stepped into a small room where Feliks laid still on the bed. He was peacefully resting as the heart rate monitor beeped metronomically. An oxygen mask covered half of his face as well as an IV stuck in his right forearm. He looked peaceful as he lay still, his golden hair sprawled out against the pillow. 

“He’s very lucky,” the nurse said, watching Tolys approach the side of the bed. “He was clinically dead for about a minute. But, we got him back on track. No vital organs were damaged from the stabbing. He just lost  _ a lot _ of blood.” 

“He’s a dancer,” Tolys mentioned. “Will he be able to dance again?” 

“In time,” the nurse replied, solemnly. “It will take time for the wound to heal. He may need some physical therapy, depending upon his recovery. But the main concern is making sure the wound fully heals so it does not rip open from movement.” 

“When will he wake up?” Tolys asked. 

“Whenever he’s ready. Soon, hopefully.” She put on her best smile and gently touched Tolys’ shoulder. “Don’t worry, he’ll be just fine.” 

“I hope so.” 

“I’m sorry that this happened to you.” 

Tolys closed his eyes, striving for patience as the nurse left the room. He didn’t want people’s pity or sympathy. He wanted to go back in time and stop all of this from happening. He wished he had seen the signs sooner, he wished they could’ve escaped earlier. 

But of course, nothing could be done. All that was left to do was to wait. 

“I feel horrible,” Iryna said. “He’s in so much pain. I wish there was more that I could have done for him and Feliks.” 

Eduard sighed, leaning forward and folding his hands together. “Yes,” he answered. “I’ve never seen him like this.” There had been times Eduard had seen Tolys feeling lost after a breakup, but in comparison to the current moment, it had been nothing. Tolys was  _ devastated _ , and rightfully so. There was nothing Eduard, nor anyone, could do to help. 

“He’s in a state of shock,” Iryna continued. “It takes a while for you to process anything.” 

If anyone would know, it would be Iryna. 

“Will he be okay?” Eduard asked. “I mean...it’s almost like he’s just going through motions…”

Iryna put a hand on his shoulder and took a deep breath. “It takes time, but he’ll be fine. We all will be.” 

“Jesus, I’m sorry. I haven’t asked how you’re feeling in all of this.” Eduard looked at her with concern. 

“Well,” She sat still and thought for a moment. “In some ways, it feels like I’m living that whole night again. I’ve lost my brother and sister all over again. But it’s less painful this time around, I think. I hardly knew them, after all.” She paused. “It’s hard to fathom that Natalya was capable of so much evil. And Ivan…” Shaking her head, she sighed. “I don’t know what to think of him.” 

Eduard nodded. “You had faith in him.” 

“Of course; he was so kind and gentle when we were kids. I never thought he’d become a murderer’s accomplice.” 

The nurse from earlier entered the waiting room again, tentatively. “Y-you’re... _ their  _ sister, correct?” she asked Iryna. “I’m supposed to tell you that Ivan is fine. He’s got stitches for his wound, and has been asking for you.” 

Iryna grimaced. “Um, are you saying I should go see him?” 

“It would be ideal,” the nurse said. “He literally  _ won’t stop _ asking for you.” 

“Okay,” Iryna glanced at Eduard. “What about Natalya?” 

The nurse hesitated. “She has a concussion. We are encouraging her to get some rest, but you know how police are. They want to question and arrest her now.” 

“You’re aware of what she did, right?” Eduard asked. 

“I heard, but...I’ve worked with her. I honestly can’t imagine her killing anyone. Especially a man. You know how petite she is, right? Sure, she’s a harsh woman, but...” The nurse paused and turned to Iryna once again. “Do you mind coming along with me? Your brother wants to see you.” 

“I’ll wait here,” Eduard mentioned. 

Finally stepping out of the room, Iryna followed the nurse down several hallways until they reached a room that seemed to be isolated by itself. Stopping in front of the door, the nurse hesitated. “Your sister is in a room on the other side of the hospital. We figured we should keep them far apart in case…” Her voice trailed off as she opened the door; she assumed Iryna knew what she was getting at. 

Iryna walked into the room to find that it was dark and all that could be heard were the different noises from the various machines. The nurse kindly turned on a few more lights and groaned. 

“He keeps turning them off. Tell him to stop, please.” she said in an annoyed tone. 

“The lights are too bright,” Ivan replied, flinching at the lights turned on. “Don’t you have something more natural?” 

“No.” The nurse then left the room and closed the door behind her. 

The room was quiet as Iryna cautiously approached the bed. Ivan was watching her closely as if he were trying to read her thoughts exactly. Iryna took note that she needed to be careful; he clearly wasn’t the little brother she knew years ago. He was obviously looking for a weakness to make sure she’d be on  _ his _ side.

“How are you feeling?” she asked, looking at the stitched up cut along the side of his face and neck. 

“Fine,” Ivan answered. He shifted in the bed so he could sit up properly. “I’m sorry that you’re involved in this.” He looked at her with wide eyes, something he did when they were kids when apologizing. It was a sign that he was being genuine, or so Iryna hoped. 

She knew he was manipulator just like Natalya. She had to be careful around him. 

Crossing her arms across her chest, she looked away and took a deep breath. “I don’t understand...” 

“Understand what?” Ivan asked, tilting his head. 

“I don’t understand...why you  _ helped _ her with those murders.” Iryna clarified. 

“She’s family…” Ivan began. 

“Yes, but you don’t help murderers! Even if they’re family!” 

Ivan thought carefully of what he would say next. “Growing up, I wanted nothing more than to have our family back together. When Natalya contacted me, I thought we could all be reunited. But,” He paused. “I wasn’t aware of how  _ sick  _ she was. I thought I could fix it.” 

“ _ Fix  _ it?” Iryna asked. 

“Fine, that’s not the right word.  _ Control _ it.  _ Manage _ it. Get her with the right guy, she’d settle down and her  _ urges  _ would stop. Or so I thought.” 

Iryna shook her head. “Why didn’t you get her help? She needed  _ help _ .” 

“It was too late for that,” 

“It’s never too late to get help.” Iryna turned to walk to the foot of the bed. “You enjoyed it, didn’t you?” 

“What?!” 

“Killing those people. Helping her drag them around and hang them up. You enjoyed it,” Iryna continued. “There’s no other explanation for why you did what you did. You  _ enjoyed _ hurting those people just as much as Natalya did.” 

Ivan scowled at her. “Of course not!” He leaned forward. “How could you think such things about me, Iryna? You  _ know _ I’m not that person!” 

Iryna closed her eyes and shook her head.  _ You’re not the brother I once knew. Not anymore.  _ “Because if you didn’t enjoy it, you wouldn’t have kept doing it.” Iryna put her hands on the bed’s edge and leaned closer, locking eyes with her brother. “When Eduard showed me your success in your business, I was so proud. After everything we’ve been through, you have made something of yourself, and that is a wonderful feature. But then he told me his suspicions, and I dismissed them.” She bit down on her lip; her anger and frustration with her brother was beginning to manifest into tears. “I came here to find out that I was wrong. I’m disappointed in you.” 

Ivan recoiled, sinking back into the pillows, looking down at his hands. “I’m sorry you feel that way. But I thought you, of all people, would understand me. Your  _ brother _ .” 

Now  _ that  _ apology wasn’t genuine. 

“And I didn’t even touch upon how you treat your ‘friends.’ Pressuring them to do what you want, intimidating them, scaring them. What’s  _ happened  _ to you?” Iryna continued. 

“I grew up,” Ivan mumbled. “Did you seriously think we’d all stay the same as we were as children? Did you think I’d keep letting people walk all over me? I did what I had to do in order to  _ live _ .” 

“By  _ hurting  _ people? By helping your sister who is a  _ serial killer _ ?!” Iryna raised her voice in disbelief. “Do you  _ hear  _ yourself?” 

Ivan looked away, his eyes going distant. “Iryna, listen to me, right now,” he ordered. “I don’t want to hear anymore of your belittling. I need you to help me.” 

Taking a step back, Iryna looked at him shocked. Was he  _ serious _ ? “Help you? How could I possibly help you? 

“I need you to promise me you’ll do everything to help me. I might go to jail, Iryna, and I want you to promise me that you’ll stop that from happening.” Ivan clarified. 

“Iv--” 

“May I remind you that I’m your brother, we’re family,” he said, calmly. “We  _ need _ to be a family Iryna. I’ve done everything for our family,” He paused. “I expect you to do the same.” 

Hours after his surgery, Feliks woke up. 

Upon his opening his eyes, he immediately saw that a chair had been pulled next to the bed and Tolys was sleeping against the bed barrier. It didn’t look comfortable in the slightest, but when did Tolys ever sleep in comfortable positions? 

Carefully and gently, Feliks pushed back some of Tolys’ hair to the side and smiled. Tolys’ eyes fluttered open as he sat up and turned to Feliks. 

“Hey, sleepy head.” Feliks greeted, his voice muffled a bit by the oxygen mask. 

“You’re alive!!” Tolys exclaimed. Overwhelmed with emotions, he had already started crying and kissed Feiks’ forehead. “You’re alive!” 

“Of course I am,” Feliks was about to take the mask off, but Tolys stopped him from doing so. “Did you really think I’d die?” 

Tolys hesitated. “The nurse said you were clinically dead for a minute.” 

“Really?! And I came back?! That makes me, like, an angel right?” 

“I-I don’t think so?” 

“It totally does.” 

They both laughed, but Feliks stopped as he felt a jab in his abdomen. “Be careful,” Tolys mentioned. “You’ve got a lot of healing to do.” 

Feliks frowned; suddenly all of the memories came back to him and it was too painful. “Has she been arrested yet for what she’s done?” he asked in a serious tone. 

“I don’t know,” Tolys answered. “I really hope so.” He then smiled. “What matters is that you’re okay.” 

“What if I can’t perform again?” Feliks mumbled. 

“The nurse said you will be fine, it’ll just take some time.” 

The room went quiet as they intertwined their hands, Feliks leaning to put his head against Tolys’ shoulder. He slowly began to drift off to sleep once again, happy to know that both of them would be okay. 

Eventually. 

Her head was pounding and her ears were ringing. The feeling of nausea was overwhelming, and she felt that she was going to vomit any minute. 

Shifting in her bed, Natalya quickly found that her wrist was handcuffed to the bed. Yanking on the chain several times, she heard the door open and looked up to see two detectives stepping in. 

“Ms. Arlovskaya?” the one said. 

“Ugh. What?” she groaned. 

He stepped aside to let his partner in and pulled out his badge. “Detectives  Dąbrowski  and  Kamiński . We’re here to discuss what happened back at the--” 

“I have nothing to say to you,” Natalya stated rather quickly. She lifted her hand again, metal against metal clanking loudly. “Do you mind? Could you uncuff me please?” 

Detective Dąbrowski glanced at his partner and took a deep breath. “Ms. Arlovskaya, two people have already given us some pieces of the story about tonight. They don’t paint you in a positive light.” 

“Were they official testimonies?” she hissed. 

“Well, no, we’ll bring them down to the stati--” 

“Then why are you  _ here _ ?” She glared at them, her disheveled hair falling over her face. 

Detective Dąbrowski pulled a strained smile. “We’d just like to talk.” 

Natalya blew her hair out of her face and mirrored his smile to mock him. “Whatever. Just get on with it.” 

Detective Kamiński took a seat in the chair beside her and opened a small notepad. “First question, what were you doing in the basement of the bar?” he asked. 

“Business,” Natalya looked away from him and leaned back in the bed. 

“What sort of business?” 

“The kind that shouldn’t matter to you,” she snarled. “Can you  _ please _ uncuff me?”

Detective Dąbrowski cleared his throat. “Ms. Chernenko says that you had Feliks Łukasiewicz and Tolys Laurinaitis tied to chairs and were torturing them. Is that correct?” 

Natalya chose not to answer. 

“Ms. Chernenko also said that you almost stabbed her as well?” 

“Where’s my brother?” Natalya asked, changing the topic. “Is Vanya okay?”

“It would be appreciated if you gave us  _ something _ , Ms. Arlovskaya.” Detective Dąbrowski stated. 

“I told you earlier that I have nothing to say to you.” 

Striving for patience, both detectives exchanged glances and took a deep breath. “Natalya, is it?” Detective Kamiński began. “You are being accused of attempted murder of Ms. Chernenko, Mr. Łukasiewicz, Mr. Laurinaitis and even your brother, Mr. Braginsky. Not to mention our current sources are implying that you also might be the ‘Puppeteer.’ It would be in your best interest to at least give us  _ something _ to prove your innocence.” 

Natalya smiled softly; just like a trained actress, she pulled the same sweetness that  _ always  _ got her out of trouble. Her mother trained her well. “Do I look like a murderer to you?” 

“Quite frankly,” Detective Dąbrowski muttered. “Yes.” 

Her smile quickly vanished as her scowl returned. “Well, I’m not.” 

“Can you prove it?” 

“That’s not my job.” 

Detective Kamiński chuckled. “No, but an innocent person would be fighting tooth and nail to prove their innocence.” 

“What’re you gonna do? You can’t arrest me. You have no proof.” Natalya hissed. 

He stood up and went to open the door. There, two officers were waiting and walked into the room. “Actually, we can. We have enough probable cause that you have committed these crimes.” 

The two officers took the handcuffs off of the bed, pulled her arms behind her back to fasten them on her wrists. “What are you doing?!” she yelled. She squirmed and pulled away from the officers, doing her best to resist the arrest. “I didn’t do anything!! You can’t prove it!! Let me  _ go _ !!!” 

“Don’t resist too much, Natalya,” Detective Dąbrowski said. “You have a concussion, remember? Oof, and look at that broken nose you have. Wouldn’t want to make any of that worse, now would we?” 

As she was pulled out of the bed, she stumbled on her feet. She shouted and protested as they dragged her out of the hospital. Other patients stepped out of their rooms to see what was going on, but said nothing as they watched the scene unfold. The officers shoved Natalya in the back of the cruiser and slammed the door shut. Whie they made their way to the front of the vehicle, Detective Dąbrowski tapped on the window and smiled. 

“We’ll see you down at the station, Natalya. And remember, honesty is key when it comes to things like this.” he said. 

With that, the police cruiser drove away as the detectives walked back into the hospital, hoping to get a few more stories. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, you made it! That was intense, wasn't it? I promised no character deaths, didn't I? 
> 
> Alrighty, I hope you guys enjoyed (or something along those lines? These chapters were hella dark and IDK if one can enjoy them?) these updates. Is the story over? Of course not!! We've got trials to go through, babyyyy!! As for the next update, I will aim for March 21! 
> 
> If there are any mistakes and corrections that need to be made, please let me know! And feel free to leave a comment or critique as well! 
> 
> And since the Eurovision Song Contest has been a conversation in the comments in past chapters, I thought I would share my ranking playlist of this year's Eurovision here. Something that's a little more lighthearted and cheery after these intense chapters! Please note that not all of the songs are on there as not all of them are released yet or I haven't added them to the list yet. Also, it's bound to change a million times from here until May. Please know that the playlist goes from WORST to BEST (in my opinion!). ---> https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLolMxrppTszPv0jeLyReyVMHr_2WbPLDu
> 
> -Katelyn


	20. Confessions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is written in a different format than in previous chapters. This chapter is to be read as if you are listening to confession tapes from the detectives.

_ Confession Tape #1: Tolys Laurinaitis _

**Detective Dąbrowski**: Please state your name for the record. 

**Tolys**: Tolys Laurinaitis. 

**Dąbrowski**: Thank you for coming in today, Mr. Laurinaitis. We appreciate your cooperation in all of this; we know how difficult it is to recount everything. 

**Tolys**: Please, Tolys. 

**Dąbrowski**: Yes, sorry. Tolys, I would like to ask you a few questions about your relationship with Natalya Arlovskaya. When did you two first meet? 

**Tolys**: Two years ago. I had been advising her brother financially. He heard I was single and, well, I suppose he decided to play matchmaker. 

**Dąbrowski**: Now when you speak of Natalya’s brother, you’re referring to Ivan Braginsky?

**Tolys**: Yes. 

**Dąbrowski**: And how was the first date with Natalya? Did you fall for her immediately? 

**Tolys**: Y-yes and no. She’s very beautiful, there’s no denying that. But, she was very cold. Distant, even. It was hard to make a connection with her. I actually thought about not going on a third date with her, but I went anyway. Eventually, I fell for her. 

**Dąbrowski**: And why did you stay with her? 

**Tolys**: ...um...I...do I have to answer that? 

**Dąbrowski**: Preferably. 

**Tolys**: ...okay...um...the...the sex was...pretty good. At first. 

**Dąbrowski**: I’ve slept with a few crazy women in my life. I get it. 

**Tolys**: What? 

**Dąbrowski**: Don’t worry about it. So, you never suspected that she might be doing something bad? Or lived a double life? 

**Tolys**: I...I ignored a lot of red flags, if I’m honest. I don’t think I ever picked up on her possibly being a killer, but I knew, deep down that she wasn’t a good person. Despite her physical beauty. We’d argue often. She’d abuse me, verbally mostly. Occasionally physically. Belittling me was her favorite pastime. I wanted to leave sooner, but I was afraid she’d...hurt me more than she already had. So I stayed because I thought I had to. I was trapped. 

**Dąbrowski**: What was it that you thought she might do? Can you go into depth? 

**Tolys**: I don’t know. I thought that the abuse would get worse. Plus, I worked for her brother; I’m sure he would have made my life a living hell to convince me to go back to her. She told me...stories of her previous boyfriends. She implied Ivan had hurt them in some capacity, but...I can’t help but wonder if they actually all ended up murdered by her hand...

**Dąbrowski**: Can you explain how Feliks Łukasiewicz fits into all of this? When does he get involved? 

**Tolys**: I was assigned to advise him with the finances of the bar. He was the new owner and manager, and the bar was in the red. He had nothing left to his name, nowhere to live. So I let him stay in our house as I helped him back on his feet. 

**Dąbrowski**: Did he ever suspect anything? Or was he ever involved in what Natalya was doing? 

**Tolys** : Feliks and Natalya _ never _ got along. _ *clears throat* _ Feliks helped me realize a lot of things about Natalya. He helped me wake up to the abuse I was living through every day. _ *pause* _ He saved my life. 

**Dąbrowski** : You and Feliks are... _ close _, yes? 

**Tolys**: Yes. 

**Dąbrowski**: Did Natalya ever sense a close bond between you and Feliks? Did she ever get jealous?

**Tolys**: When Feliks first moved in, there was nothing between him and I. The more we worked together, the closer we became. After we returned from our trip to London, we had gotten really close. And Natalya sensed it. 

**Dąbrowski**: Was that the final straw for her? Was that what made her go berserk? 

**Tolys**: I guess. Though I’m not sure why it would bother her when it’s clear that she never loved me. 

**Dąbrowski** : It gave her permission to finally kill you. _ *pause* _ What about Ivan? Tell me more about him. He’s a peculiar case. I can’t figure him out. 

**Tolys**: Ivan is...I’m sorry, I’m unsure how to start. 

**Dąbrowski**: How about you tell me about your friendship with him. Were you close? 

**Tolys**: Um, depends upon how you’d define close. I mainly thought of Ivan as a client of mine...whose sister I happened to have been dating. I never really thought of him as a friend. We weren’t close. Um...sorry...this is kind of a mess, isn’t it?

**Dąbrowski**: It won’t be if you explain it to me, Tolys. We’re here to put the pieces together. 

**Tolys**: Ivan was a client of mine. Sure, we were closer than say my other clients, but...he was just a client. That’s how I thought of him. 

**Dąbrowski**: And did Ivan think of you as a friend? 

**Tolys** : ...I don’t know what Ivan thought of me. Maybe he thought of me like family. I don’t know. What I _ do _ know is that he was just as obsessive of me as Natalya was, if not even more so. 

**Dąbrowski**: How so? 

**Tolys** : ...i-it felt like he was infatuated with me or something. Or maybe protective of me. Honestly. When Feliks and I left for London, he was just as upset as Natalya was. Actually, even more upset. He left several voice messages on my phone and texted me nonstop. I don’t know how to describe it; that’s how _ weird _he is. 

**Dąbrowski**: Do you think Ivan was jealous of his sister, perhaps because she was dating you? 

**Tolys**: That would be...very disturbing, but, maybe? As far as I know, Ivan never had any sort of love life. So, I mean, it’s possible? I don’t really know what goes on in his mind. To be frank, I can’t figure him out either. 

**Dąbrowski**: Did you ever feel that Ivan held power over you? Did you ever feel like you had to do what he asked you to do or face the consequences? 

**Tolys** : Yes, all the time. When it came to the matters of the bar, Ivan was so pushy about it. No matter how many times I said that it would be wise for him to _ only _ purchase the bar to expand his gardening business, he’d dismiss me. When I wrote up a contract that would be sure that he Feliks had to work _ together _in regards to the bar, he destroyed it before my very eyes. It’s Ivan’s way or nothing. 

**Dąbrowski**: I see. Thank you, Tolys. That will be all. 

_ Confession Tape #2: Feliks Łukasiewicz _

**Detective Kamiński**: Please state your name for the record. 

**Feliks**: Feliks Łukasiewicz! The one! The only! 

**Kamiński**: How are you doing, Feliks? Much better, I presume? 

**Feliks**: Eh, it still hurts to move. I can’t sleep on my side and I can’t dance. 

**Kamiński**: But you are getting better in time, yes? 

**Feliks**: Yeeeaah. It just stinks, you know? I get antsy. 

**Kamiński**: It’s understandable. Are you okay if I ask you some questions today? 

**Feliks**: That’s why I’m here, right? 

**Kamiński**: Indeed. Remind me of how you and Tolys met. 

**Feliks**: He was helping me with my finances. And he found out that I didn’t have much, so he kindly offered me a room at his place. 

**Kamiński**: And what about Ivan? I’ve heard that you two do not think kindly of each other. 

**Feliks**: Yeah, because the jerk barged into my bar and demanded that I sell it to him! Plus, he broke one of my shot glasses! For no reason at all! 

**Kamiński**: Ivan was violent around you? 

**Feliks**: Yes! I mean, he didn’t hurt me or anything, but he threatened me. And he’s a big guy, so he could probably just squash me with just a swipe of his hand!!! 

**Kamiński**: If he threatened you and you felt endangered, why didn’t you report to the police, Feliks?

**Feliks**: Because I’ve reported things in the past and you guys didn’t do anything about it. 

**Kamiński** : _ *clears throat* _ I’m sorry that we did not take any past crimes that were done to harm you seriously, Feliks. _ *pause* _ Were you intimidated by Natalya or Ivan? 

**Feliks** : Intimidated? No. Scared? Yes, but _ don’t _tell them that. 

**Kamiński**: What about them scared you? 

**Feliks**: How manipulative they were. And how they treated Tolys. He was practically their little slave, and that’s how they viewed everyone else. As their little servants. 

**Kamiński**: Did you ever suspected that one of them might be a killer? 

**Feliks** : Not really, not until things got more and more strange. I suspected that Ivan was up to no good for a while. I just wanted to avoid him like the plague. And Natalya, well, she was always snooping around my stuff or watching me closely. She was ready to come up with _ anything _to get me kicked out. She also trusts her brother way too much. 

**Kamiński** : Allow me to rephrase my question: did you ever think either of them might be _ capable _of murder? 

**Feliks**: Uuuh…maybe? That’s not like an everyday thought of mine. Like, oh I’m walking down the street, doot doot doot doooo, and I see a person and think “oh, that person could kill me!” Who does that? 

**Kamiński** : Who would you say, out of the two, was the _ most _ controlling, Feliks?

**Feliks** : Hmm, that’s a _ very _ good question. I think...it depends upon the situation. But, I think everyone _ had _ to do things _ for _ Natalya. She was always, _ somehow _, involved. Tolys had to make sure she was happy. Hell, even Ivan had to do things to make her happy. So, Natalya was the controlling one. 

**Kamiński**: Did Natalya ever get suspicious of your relationship with Tolys?

**Feliks**: Only after Tolys broke up after her. She hated the both of us, so it just gave her incentive to kill us. 

**Kamiński**: Last question, Feliks. What do you know about their older sister, Sofia? 

**Feliks**: Sofia? 

**Kamiński**: Chernenko? 

**Feliks** : Chernenko? Oh wait...oh! You mean _ Iryna _! Right. She’s the nicest. I don’t know how she’s related to Ivan and Natalya. She’s so sweet. 

**Kamiński**: She’s not involved in her siblings' mess? 

**Feliks**: No! Not at all! I think she literally showed up that day. Ivan was searching for her or something. Long lost sister thing. You know? Anyways, Iryna untied Tolys and I from our whatevers. If it wasn’t for her, we wouldn’t have been able to make a run for it when we did. We would have surely been killed that night, because Ivan wasn’t gonna do a damn thing to stop Natalya. 

**Kamiński**: This helps a great deal. Thank you for your cooperation, Feliks. Have a nice day.

_ Confession Tape #3: Sofia Chernenko/Iryna Braginskaya _

**Dąbrowski**: Is Sofia Chernenko your given name, ma’am? 

**Iryna**: No, sir. 

**Dąbrowski**: What is your given name? 

**Iryna**: Iryna Braginskaya. 

**Dąbrowski**: Which would you rather be referred to? 

**Iryna**: Um, it doesn’t really matter. ...Iryna is fine. 

**Dąbrowski**: Why’d you change your name? 

**Iryna**: My adoptive parents had it changed. For safety reasons. 

**Dąbrowski**: What safety reasons? 

**Iryna**: Um...my biological parents had been killed by hitmen...or gangsters. The head of the gang knew my name and I was responsible for getting him arrested. He would most likely chase after me. 

**Dąbrowski**: But he didn’t know your brother and sister’s name? 

**Iryna**: No. 

**Dąbrowski**: How was your sister when she was a kid? 

**Iryna**: Uh...not...good? Misbehaved all the time. Swore a lot. We were told not to give her attention because that’s what she wanted, even if it was negative.

**Dąbrowski**: So, you have been in Ukraine this whole time, correct? When did you arrive here in Warsaw?

**Iryna**: The day that...everything happened. Earlier in the day.

**Dąbrowski**: What made you come here?

**Iryna**: Ivan...apparently had been looking for me for years and couldn’t find me. Eduard…

**Dąbrowski**: You speak of Eduard von Bock?

**Iryna**: Yes. 

**Dąbrowski**: Can you explain to me why Eduard was there? 

**Iryna**: Ivan sent Eduard to find me. Eduard was also...trying to put puzzle pieces together when it came to the Puppeteer case. At the time, he believed that Ivan was the killer, despite Ivan telling him that it wasn’t. I told Eduard the story of how the three of us got separated. He was the one who convinced me to come here to Warsaw to see Ivan. 

**Dąbrowski**: To which, you did, correct? 

**Iryna**: Yes. At his garden shop. 

**Dąbrowski**: Was Natalya there? 

**Iryna**: Not at first. She came in later wanting to speak to Ivan. I sensed that something was...strange. She was incredibly happy, but because Eduard had implied that she too might be involved in the Puppeteer case, I figured that something was off. 

**Dąbrowski**: So, you leave the store, right? Later that evening, what happens? 

**Iryna**: I was at Eduard’s apartment. I had just finished making dinner for the two of us. There was a knock on the door and Eduard had opened to find that it was Ivan. Ivan requests to speak to me, alone, and I obliged. He asks me to come with me because Natalya is sick. I-I thought that maybe...she was just ill with a cold or a stomach bug. But deep down, I knew what was to happen. 

**Dąbrowski**: So...your brother proceeds to take you to the bar. You follow him down to the basement. Then…? 

**Iryna** : We step into... _ that _ room. Tolys and Feliks are tied down...Natalya was ready to kill Feliks. When we walked in, she stopped and...we all proceeded to argue. Mainly she and Ivan argued. While they were distracted, I loosened the ties that kept Feliks and Tolys bound. 

**Dąbrowski**: Why?

**Iryna** : I wanted to help. They had gotten caught up between...I don’t know what to call it...the sibling rivalry between Ivan and Natalya. I _ think _ that’s what you can call it. I don’t know. What I _ did _ know, was that both Feliks and Tolys were innocent. They needed help. 

**Dąbrowski**: Did your sister ever attack you at this moment?

**Iryna**: Yes. I was trying to stall her from killing them. I...I provoked her by saying that I wasn’t scared of her. She then said that I must not be afraid to die and lunged at me. Ivan stopped her though...and told me to run. 

**Dąbrowski**: And you did, I presume? 

**Iryna**: Yes. 

**Dąbrowski**: And so this is where your involvement ends. You were truly brought into a mess, Iryna. I am so sorry. 

**Iryna** : It’s okay. I’m used to it. _ *pauses* _Are you aware that she saw my parents’ murder? 

**Dąbrowski**: She what now? 

**Iryna**: She witnessed my parents’ murder. She was there. I’m certain that she saw everything.

**Dąbrowski**: ...you’re serious? 

**Iryna**: Yes. 

**Dąbrowski** : Jesus...and that was a brutal murder from what I read about it. And what about your brother? Did he see their murder? Did _ all _of you see their murder? 

**Iryna**: No, Ivan wasn’t there. He was with my uncle. I only saw the aftermath. 

**Dąbrowski**: Right. So, Ivan. How was he as a kid? 

**Iryna**: Really sweet. He always wanted friends, but was bullied nonstop. 

**Dąbrowski**: Before all of this occured, had you met with Ivan or Natalya? 

**Iryna**: I met with Natalya once. I wanted to reunite with her and Ivan, but she told me that they didn’t need me. And if I ever tried, she would make sure I wouldn’t ever again. I didn’t see Ivan until the day of everything that happened. 

**Dąbrowski**: Last question: Do you think what your sister witnessed long ago, affected her as she grew older?

**Iryna**: Without a doubt. 

_ Confession Tape #4: Eduard von Bock _

**Kamiński**: Good afternoon, Eduard. Please state your name for the record. 

**Eduard**: Eduard von Bock. 

**Kamiński**: I hear that you’re quite the detective, Mr. von Bock. 

**Eduard** : _ *chuckle* _ No, just a nosy journalist, sir. 

**Kamiński**: But if it weren’t for you, the Puppeteer would not have been caught. So, tell me, what made you decide to try to solve the case? 

**Eduard**: Uh, well, I’ve always had an interest in serial killers. And as a journalist, I had written a couple of articles on the Puppeteer. Mainly recaps of evidence the police had found. Interviews with some of the victims’ families. As more and more victims were being found, I guess I just...wanted to help. Or got wrapped up in the thrill of hunting a killer. 

**Kamiński**: I see. Well, you did a fairly good job, Mr. von Bock. I’m guessing you will be writing a book about this whole matter? 

**Eduard**: Perhaps. With my friends’ permission, of course. 

**Kamiński**: So, did you always think that Ivan or Natalya were involved? 

**Eduard**: No. I didn’t have a clue who it might be. I had been grasping at straws for months. Detective work is not easy like the TV shows. I highly respect your job, Detective Kamiński. It was actually Tolys who brought my attention to Ivan and his...well, personality. See, Ivan is incredibly pushy and manipulative. Traits a killer deemed as a Puppeteer most certainly would have. Given the fact that all of the victims were male and were most likely killed during the night, combined with the fact that Ivan was being pushy about buying a bar...I grew a little suspicious. 

**Kamiński**: I see…

**Eduard** : Of course, I thought I was stereotyping. Jumping the gun a little. But I had seen how... _ fond _ of Tolys Ivan was. Again, I know, jumping the gun and making assumptions. But he was buying a _ bar _ for goodness’ sake. That would increase his “clientele” by a lot! I then looked into Ivan’s background. The story of his parents being brutally murdered struck me. Then the stories of him being bullied as a child, causing him to be socially distant struck me as well. Not to mention, he owns a flower and gardening shop; he could easily kill them with all of those tools in there…

**Kamiński**: But none of the victims had wounds from such tools…

**Eduard** : Yes, I am aware of that now. I got so excited that I had solved the mystery, I ended up being sloppy in my deductions. I overlooked a lot of things. I wanted this case solved just like any other person. Which is _ why _ I admire your job, Detective. One must be calm and collected and not let their excitement get the best of them. It’s why I _ admire _ your job, but I could never be a detective. 

**Kamiński**: How did you end up in Ukraine, Eduard? What sent you there to find Ivan’s sister, Iryna Braginskaya? 

**Eduard**: I...I confronted Ivan about being the Puppeteer. I know, I know. I shouldn’t have done that. He denied being the murderer, but said that since I enjoy sticking my nose where it does not belong, he wanted me to find his older sister. He claimed that he had been searching for Iryna for years, and that every time he got closer, she seemed to slip through the cracks. I thought that it was all just a ruse; that his older sister didn’t exist. Especially since he, nor Natalya, ever mentioned having an older sister. But low and behold, I managed to find Iryna, with the help of Raivis, Ivan’s sole employee. 

**Kamiński**: Did you learn anything new from Iryna? 

**Eduard**: I learned about the depth of the murder of her parents. Her story of her past, at the time, proved that Ivan most likely wasn’t the killer. He didn’t seem to express any of the typical childhood traits a serial killer would have. Her story, however, brought my attention to Natalya. 

**Kamiński**: How come? 

**Eduard** : Iryna expressed how difficult Natalya was as a child. Which is normally not _ that _much of a concern. However, she informed me that Natalya was in the house at the time her parents had been murdered. All this time, I thought that Ivan had witnessed it when it was Natalya who had seen it. 

**Kamiński**: You truly believed that witnessing that murder was the key to why someone would turn out to be a killer? 

**Eduard** : Isn’t a traumatic experience one of the leading factors? Or at least, _ can be _? I needed some kind of explanation. After hearing Iryna’s story, I looked into Natalya’s past. Have you looked into it?

**Kamiński**: Some research has been done, yes. We will be questioning her soon. 

**Eduard** : I was _ astounded _ . She’s quite the disturbing woman. Now, the last thing I can’t put together is...well, _ why _. Why kill them the way she kills them? She nearly killed her first boyfriend while they were in bed together. If she witnessed the murder of her parents, could she be, somewhat, recreating their positions of their deaths? Surely, there has to be some correlation…

**Kamiński**: Mr. von Bock, with Ms. Arlovskaya in custody, with us preparing for her questioning and with a likely consultation with a psychiatrist, I don’t think you need to be attempting to solve the rest of the case. Sometimes, we don’t get all of the answers. You have done well, and we thank you for your work, though we wish you would have come to us sooner. I just have one last question for you: why did you not submit any of your findings to us? 

**Eduard** : ...after I accused Ivan of being the murder, I knew I had made a mistake. I _ should _ have come to you first to send a tip. But regardless, I had made a bad choice and had to commit. Ivan held that idiotic choice I made over my head, and I worried he might charge me with slander or something. 

**Kamiński**: I see. Thank you, Eduard, for your candid answers. You are dismissed. 

_ Confession Tape #5: Ivan Braginsky _

**Dąbrowski**: Good evening, Ivan. Detective Kamiński and I will be conducting your interview today. Please state your name for the record. 

**Ivan**: Ivan. 

**Kamiński** : Your _ full _ name, please. 

**Ivan** : Ivan Braginsky. _ *pause* _ Don’t you already have my name on file, though? I thought we spoke before. At the hospital. 

**Dąbrowski**: Just following protocol, sir.

**Kamiński**: Our notes from before state that you met up with your sister Natalya for the first time in 17 years, three years ago. Is that still correct? 

**Ivan**: Yes, sir. 

**Kamiński**: Was it a joyous reunion between the two of you? 

**Ivan**: ...Yes. 

**Dąbrowski**: You seem unsure about that. 

**Ivan**: It was a happy event. 

**Dąbrowski** : Hm. Did your sister _ allude _to the fact that she had some...pretty disturbing thoughts when you first met? 

**Ivan**: Of course not, but I remembered how twisted she was from when we were kids. 

**Dąbrowski**: Twisted? How twisted?

**Ivan**: Oh, you know how kids are. She just was curious about...things. 

**Dąbrowski**: Can you give us an example, Ivan? It would help us understand your sister a bit better. 

**Ivan**: Ah, yes. I specifically remember one time we were walking home from school and she stopped to throw rocks up at some birds nesting in a tree. It was springtime. The mother bird got hit by one of the rocks she threw and fell out of the tree, dying instantly. She poked it with a stick several times after that, poking it so hard that it caused the skin to break and guts to come out. 

**Dąbrowski**: Jesus. 

**Kamiński**: She moved here, to Warsaw, yes? 

**Ivan**: Correct. 

**Kamiński**: From...Minsk? 

**Ivan**: Yes. 

**Kamiński**: How soon after moving here did she begin killing men, Ivan? 

**Ivan**: Hm, I’ll have to really think. A couple of months, maybe? She gets bored very easily now that I think about it. 

**Dąbrowski**: The first killing, was it planned out or was it an accident? 

**Ivan**: An accident, I believe. But it’s hard to tell with her. Perhaps it wasn’t. 

**Dąbrowski**: You helped your sister when it came to moving and propping the bodies, correct? Were you ever there to assist her in the murders?

**Ivan**: Never. I don’t particularly care for blood, or seeing it gush out while someone’s heart is still pumping. 

**Kamiński**: Did she contact you after she committed her first murder?

**Ivan**: Yes. 

**Kamiński**: And how was she then? Upset? Angry? 

**Ivan**: Neither. She was calm. Actually, the calmest I’ve ever seen her. 

**Kamiński**: What happened next after you arrived on the scene? 

**Ivan**: We put the body in the trunk and drove to my house. At the time, my business was still small and I lived outside of the city in the middle of nowhere. Now that I think about it, that was convenient. I miss that little house. It was quiet. 

**Dąbrowski**: And did you both prop up the bodies? 

**Ivan**: No, no. We buried the first several victims in the yard of my old house. It was my idea; I told Natalya it was the right thing to do if she didn’t want to be haunted for the rest of her life. Which of course...she didn’t care. She said that ghosts aren't real. If they were, they would make themselves known by now. 

**Dąbrowski**: When did she wish to start propping up the bodies? Did these victims of hers mean anything to her? Why did she continue doing this? 

**Ivan**: Hmm, good question. I don’t remember when I started helping her prop up the bodies like puppets. She might be able to answer that for you. But she might also be deceptive. As for the victims, they were men she toyed with. Natalya’s always liked toying with men; she’s very beautiful and she knows it. She thought it was hilarious the way men would do anything and everything for her, and once she figured out what made them tick, would manipulate them to do whatever she wanted. Once she was bored of them, she’d discard them and hang them up to mock them. 

**Kamiński**: And, let us ask this again just so we can get the record straight. What exactly did you help Natalya with? 

**Ivan**: Moving the bodies, mostly. Sometimes I’d help her...pick her victims, if that’s what you want to call it. 

**Kamiński** : _ Pick _ her victims? How so? 

**Ivan**: Creating different accounts on dating sites, sending information about them…I stopped once she and Tolys started dating seriously. 

**Dąbrowski** : So, where _ does _ Tolys Laurinaitis fit into all of this? How did he become the long term boyfriend? How did he avoid getting killed for so long? 

**Ivan**: ...He’s a friend. A close friend. I care about him a lot. He helps me with my business. The flower business, I mean. ...If Natalya would have gotten her way, she would have killed him after 6 months of dating once she got bored of him. But he is my friend, and Natalya respected that. Sort of. Tolys is a good man, and I thought putting him with my sister would make her...for the lack of a better term, less stabby. It worked for 6 months. No hunting, no killings. I think...she loved him during that time. Sort of. If she’s capable of it. 

**Dąbrowski**: Do you consider yourself Tolys’ “savior?” 

**Ivan**: I prefer a more modest term. I’m his friend, and I did everything I could to save him. 

**Kamiński**: ...And do you really think you saved him? 

**Ivan**: He’s still alive, isn’t he?

**Kamiński**: Let’s move on...when did Feliks Łukasiewicz get into the picture? 

**Ivan**: Must we talk about that moron? 

**Dąbrowski**: He’s part of the reason why things fell apart, correct? He got in between Natalya and Tolys, didn’t he? He’s the reason why the relationship between those two really unravelled. 

**Ivan**: ...I wouldn’t give him that much credit. He’s not very bright, you see, and--

**Kamiński**: I think you need to give Mr. Łukasiewicz more credit, Ivan. He was able to see through the front you and your sister put out when interacting with people. He was able to help Tolys see the abuse he endured every day from Natalya. He’s the reason why Tolys was able to escape being the next victim. He’s the reason why Tolys is alive. 

**Ivan**: …

**Dąbrowski**: No comment, huh? 

**Ivan**: I think you’re giving Feliks too much credit. I helped Tolys as well. If my sister would have gotten her way, Tolys would have been hanging from the walls sooner. 

**Dąbrowski** : How so? Were you the one who jumped in front of him and got stabbed? Did you recommend that maybe there were better women out there for him instead of your sister? A good friend wouldn’t play matchmaker and have their friend date a murderer who is yearning to kill them. If you ask me, it doesn’t seem like you care about Tolys _ that _much. 

**Ivan**: You wouldn’t underst--

**Dąbrowski**: I think you think Tolys is disposable. 

**Kamiński**: Let’s get back on track here, shall we? Ivan, can you at least explain to us how Mr. Łukasiewicz got involved? 

**Ivan**: I wanted to buy the bar that he owns. He wouldn’t sell it to me, so I took it with...coercion. Tolys has a kind heart and offered Feliks a place in his home, because Feliks was homeless. Feliks was never supposed to be friends with Tolys. Feliks was just supposed to let me buy the bar and get out of the way...

**Kamiński**: And how close the two got with each other bothered you, didn’t it? You always wanted to be close with Tolys, but you couldn’t. 

**Ivan**: What? 

**Kamiński**: Tolys told us a while back that you...were almost territorial of him. Is that true? 

**Ivan**: No, no, that was Natalya. 

**Dąbrowski**: You sure? Because he insinuated otherwise. 

**Ivan** : Natalya was territorial over him. _ Not me _. 

**Dąbrowski**: So, the hundreds of voice and text messages you left while Tolys and Feliks were travelling in London were just...friendly, inspirational messages? 

**Ivan**: I don’t know wh--

**Kamiński**: Tolys submitted his phone as evidence. We’ve heard the messages. You were quite angry that they both suddenly left with little warning. 

**Ivan** : Because….you don’t understand! Natalya...look, she’s sick in the head. When Tolys wasn’t around, she’d get worse. Not to mention, you don’t even know how she is around _ me _. She’s clingy around me. She talks to me like she’s in love with me. Romantically speaking. She’s crazy. Tolys helped--

**Dąbrowski**: Look, Ivan, we’re not going to deny that your sister is...quite disturbing, to put it mildly. And I don’t think there was anything that could have been done to help or save her, by you or her adoptive parents, unfortunately. However, we aren’t going to pretend that you’re innocent. You confess to helping her finding victims, you confess that you put your so called friend into an abusive relationship, knowing that he would most likely be killed. You’re quite sick and twisted yourself, Ivan. It almost seems like you were a Puppeteer, in some regard, yourself. 

**Ivan**: You’re wrong--

**Dąbrowski** : You threatened Feliks upon first meeting him. Destroyed his property to get what you wanted. Destroyed the document Tolys wrote to make the ownership and control of the bar equal between you and Feliks. You nearly got _ both _ men killed. And that employee of yours? The teenager? Raivis? He doesn’t have kind words about you either. He says you threatened him, pushed him around, made him feel terrified in the work environment. 

**Ivan** : He’s lying. That kid is _ always _ lying! 

**Dąbrowski** : Ivan, look, I think you need to start facing the facts here. You and your sister are in the same situation. You, in a sense, enjoyed watching your sister commit those crimes. You enjoyed watching her date Tolys Laurinaitis. You enjoyed the thrill of it all, just as much as she did. _ Both _ of you were the Puppeteer. 

**Ivan**: A-and Iryna? What about her? Have you spoken to my older sister? Surely she--

**Dąbrowski**: Yes, the love your older sister has for both you and Natalya runs deep. She’s a rarity on this earth, I’ll give her that. A true gem. But she didn’t really give us much information other than you were a “good kid.” Being a “good kid” isn’t enough to save you from what you did, Ivan. 

**Ivan**: You’re not listening to me, and you don’t-- Natalya attempted to kill me too!! I’m a victim here, just like everyone else! 

**Dąbrowski**: Did you think your outstanding business skills and faux kindness would put you in good graces? 

**Ivan** : You’re not _ listening _to me! Please, just--

**Dąbrowski**: I suggest that you get a good lawyer, Mr. Braginsky. You’re going to need it if you want a chance of getting a short sentence. 

_ Confession Tape #6: Natalya Arlovskaya _

**Dąbrowski**: How are you today, Natalya? 

**Natalya**: Do you think you can get me a more comfortable bed for my cell? My back hurts. 

**Dąbrowski**: We’ll look into it. Would you please state your name for the record? 

**Natalya**: Natalya Arlovskaya. Or do you want my real name? Natalya Braginskaya? 

**Dąbrowski**: Either will do. 

**Kamiński**: We’d like to ask you some questions, Natalya. 

**Natalya**: What for? 

**Kamiński**: And we’d also like it if you cooperated. 

**Natalya**: M‘kay. 

**Kamiński**: Your sister mentioned that you witnessed the murder of your parents as a child. Is that true? 

**Natalya**: You shouldn’t listen to what my sister says. 

**Dąbrowski**: Is it true or not, Natalya? 

**Natalya**: Why do you need to know? 

**Dąbrowski**: Answer the question. Remember what I said about cooperation? 

**Natalya**: Fine. Yes, I watched them die. 

**Dąbrowski**: How much did you see? 

**Natalya**: Everything. 

**Kamiński**: Did that affect you? Do you think that was a defining moment--

**Natalya**: I honestly don’t think about it. They’re dead, and have been for some time. Why should I think about it? 

**Kamiński**: They were your parents, they brought you into this world. Witnessing their brutal death could have some lasting effects on you as you grow older. 

**Natalya**: I’m sorry, are you a detective or a therapist? 

**Kamiński**: Tell us about your adoptive parents, Natalya. Anton was a politician, correct? 

**Natalya**: Something like that. 

**Kamiński**: And Anastasia? She was…? 

**Natalya**: A golddigger. A cunt. A bitch. 

**Dąbrowski**: Were you close to either of them? 

**Natalya**: No. They both were useless and annoying. *pause* But I guess if I had a choice, I preferred Anton. He at least...cared about me. He tried. 

**Dąbrowski**: Anastasia didn’t? 

**Natalya** : All she cared about were the diamonds on her ears, on her fingers and around her neck, that _ stupid _ , _ ugly _, dog, and the variety of cocks she shoved down her throat while Anton was off travelling. That, and botox. 

**Kamiński**: She cared about her image, more than anything. Is that what you’re saying? 

**Natalya** : _ Duh _. 

**Kamiński**: How was Anton and Anastasia’s relationship with each other? Loving? Passionate? Turbulent? Abusive? 

**Natalya** : Hmm...I think turbulent sums it up nicely. Anton was pretty useless when it came to most things. Anastasia was _ never _happy. Hence why she cheated on him all the time. 

**Kamiński**: Did Anton do everything he could to please Anastasia? 

**Natalya**: There was no pleasing her. But sure, he tried. 

**Dąbrowski**: Ah, sounds familiar, doesn’t it, Kamiński? 

**Kamiński**: Indeed. Natalya, do you remember your first victim? 

**Natalya**: Again, I don’t really think about people once they’re dead. 

**Kamiński**: We would appreciate it if you would cooperate and answer our questions, Natalya. 

**Natalya** : _ *sigh* _ I started killing around three years ago. I don’t remember the name or the face, because it happened three years ago. 

**Kamiński**: Did your brother assist you in transporting the bodies? 

**Natalya**: Didn’t you already ask him that? Why are you asking me? 

**Dąbrowski**: We need to confirm stories. Did your brother, Ivan, assist you in transporting the bodies? 

**Natlaya**: Yes. 

**Kamiński**: Are there victims that haven’t been discovered? 

**Natalya**: … 

**Dąbrowski**: Given the smirk you’re giving us, I’ll take that as a yes. 

**Natalya**: It’s not my fault that you’re slow. 

**Dąbrowski**: Do you remember where you left the unfound victims? Could lead us there? 

**Natalya**: Yes and no. 

**Kamiński** : Why did you leave your victims...like _ that _? 

**Natalya**: Because men are stupid and that’s how they should look like. 

**Kamiński**: Like puppets? 

**Natalya**: Yes. They’re nothing but spineless creatures who don’t bother to use their brains. They all just think with their dicks, and they’ll stick their dicks in anything that remotely resembles a wet pussy. 

**Kamiński**: Alright...that’s a bit...vulgar…I’m going to have to ask you to--

**Natalya**: It’s the truth and you know it. 

**Kamiński**: Did you feel that way about Tolys? Did you feel that he was nothing but a puppet?

**Natalya**: Yes. He’s the Ultimate Puppet. He’d do anything for me. He’d go out of his way to make me happy. He’d do everything he could to please me and make sure I’d c--

**Kamiński**: Most of your victims, you killed within two weeks after meeting them. What took you so long to attempt to kill Tolys? 

**Natalya** : Well, I guess kinda liked the guy for a bit. 6 months, to be exact. And then I grew bored and wanted to discard him. But, Vanya wouldn’t let me. I don’t get his _ obsession _ with him. But, since I’m a _ loving _ sister to my big brother, I made my sacrifice for _ his _ happiness. 

**Kamiński**: Not to mention, Tolys helped Ivan a lot, correct? 

**Natalya**: I suppose. 

**Dąbrowski**: So, you didn’t kill Tolys because you actually cared about him somewhat--

**Natalya**: No, I didn’t kill him because Vanya told me not to. 

**Dąbrowski**: This is where I get confused, Natalya. Who was in control of who, here? Were you controlling Ivan or was he controlling you? 

**Natalya**: We are a team. We worked together. Always. I love Vanya and he loves me. We’d do anything for each other. 

**Dąbrowski**: That doesn’t answer my question, Natalya. Were you controlling Ivan or was he controlling you? 

**Natalya**: I gave you my answer. You’re just too stupid to get it. 

**Kamiński**: You care a lot about Ivan, don’t you? 

**Natalya**: Yes. Very much. 

**Kamiński** : He’s the _ only _ one you care about? 

**Natalya**: Yes. 

**Kamiński**: You must have been very upset when he betrayed you. Taking the side of your older sister, Iryna. Doing everything he could to stop you from doing what you wished. It must have upset you a lot. 

**Natalya**: Hm. 

**Kamiński**: You’ve got nothing to say to that, do you? 

**Natalya**: He only betrayed me because Iryna came to visit. I knew that if she were a part of the family again, that she’d get into Vanya’s head. She was always a goody-two-shoes. She’d make everything less fun. She’s like the little angel on his shoulder telling him to be good. If she had just stayed away like I told her to--

**Kamiński**: And what? You’re the devil on his shoulder? 

**Natalya** : _ No _, I’m just me. 

**Dąbrowski**: So, when did Feliks Łukasiewicz get into the picture? Did you agree to let him live with you and Tolys?

**Natalya**: Unfortunately, yes. I agreed because I thought it might be some extra fun having someone else to manipulate. I didn’t think he’d be staying long because he’s not very bright. *pause* Did he die? Please tell me that little rat died. 

**Kamiński**: He had to undergo some surgery, but he’s recovering quite nicely, from what I hear. 

**Natayla**: Fucking….shit! Goddammit! *bang* FUCK! 

**Dąbrowski**: Were you aware of...Feliks’ and Tolys’ relationship with one another? 

**Natalya** : What? That they were fucking? Yeah, I knew. I knew after they got back from London or whatever. The longer Feliks stayed in our house, the more I noticed him and Tolys getting along. Tolys got braver, too. After all that time I had spent demolishing that, he had the _ audacity _ to argue with me. Challenge me. Feliks made Tolys confident again, which in turn, made me angrier. 

**Kamiński**: Which also made you sloppy in your work, yes? The anger you had towards Tolys and Feliks made you more impatient, thus killing more frequently but not taking the time to enjoy the kill. Is that correct? 

**Natalya**: Whatever you say. Are we done here? 

**Kamiński**: We’re trying to gather--

**Natalya**: I said, are we done here? 

**Dąbrowski**: One more quick question, Natalya, and we’ll let you back to your cell. Please sit down. *pause* How many victims were there? Total? 

**Natalya** : _ *laughs* _ You don’t already know? What was the last number you guys had? 22? 

**Dąbrowski**: Cooperation, Natalya, is key. Please answer my que--

**Natalya**: I lost count a while ago. So your numbers are probably a correct guestimate. *pause* Well, higher if you include the three that are buried at Vanya’s old house and the two you never found.

**Dąbrowski**: So...27? 

**Natalya**: Give or take. All men, too. Can you believe how stupid men are? I guess not, considering both of you are men. It doesn’t take much to get an erection out of you men, I’ll tell you that. One nude photo and they’d trip over themselves to ask me to dinner. 

**Kamiński**: ...aren’t you a little bit sorry for what you did to those people, Natalya? 

**Natalya** : Why would I be? They were scum. Worthless. _ Useless _. 

**Dąbrowski**: ...thank you, Natalya. You are dismissed.

  
**Natalya**: Finally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, I hope you all are doing well in this...crazy storm we call the world right now. I really do hope all of you are staying safe and healthy at this time. I apologize for this chapter being uploaded a little bit later in the day; this week has been crazy as I have had to put together online lessons for my students and make sure all of the parents downloaded Skype (it was unbelievable how many of them made it harder than it needed to be). I had to do a lot of editing today, which is why the chapter is up late. 
> 
> When I first wrote this chapter, I had the idea of writing it as if we were reading the script of a confession tape or listening to a confession tape. After I initially wrote it down, I reread it a couple of times and then wasn't sure if I should keep it as we will have chapters dedicated to the trials and there would be repeated information. I thought it over again as I posted the previous chapters and decided that this chapter was important as it gives some information and hints of the results of the trials. I wanted, or hope that you will read it like the detectives themselves who are hearing the story just for the first time if that makes any sense. If you guys really don't like it, I can remove it. 
> 
> I hope this chapter is not too boring for you. I know it isn't as thrilling and exciting as the other chapters. It is rather bare-bones. I'm sorry if this chapter is boring. This is the only chapter that is like this. The next chapters will be as normal. 
> 
> The next update could be as early as next Saturday, March 28th, or as late as April 4th. Again, please stay safe, stay healthy and stay home, everyone! See you soon! 
> 
> -Katelyn (violinia)


	21. The Trial, part 1

The outside of the court house was crowded with people. People, alongside the family members of numerous victims of the Puppeteer, stood outside with signs, screaming in outrage. Their anger was understandable; just the day before was Ivan’s trial. Everyone had believed that he would be locked away for good for being a murderer’s accomplice. 

However, he managed to get a plea bargain so he pled guilty, which resulted in 5 years in jail  _ including  _ parole. Meaning that Ivan, with his “charm” and “good behavior,” would be out of jail within the end of the year. 

Everyone, truly, everyone was outraged. 

Natalya’s trial was about to begin in an hour, and Tolys’ anxiety was through the roof. With the unexpected turn of events in Ivan’s trail, he feared the worst. Though the preliminary hearing for her trial went extremely well for the prosecution, Tolys still had his doubts. Knowing how manipulative and clever Natalya was, anything could happen. He feared that Natalya would somehow wiggle her way free and would target him again. Or, that his anxiety would mess up his testimony completely, which would then deem Natalya innocent. 

No one knew what would unfold in the trial. 

“Look at all these people,” Feliks commented, looking out the passenger window. His hair fell over his shoulders and his hands clenched at his knees. “How the hell are we gonna get inside?” 

“I don’t know,” Tolys replied. He finally noticed that his breathing was too quick and he closed his eyes to try to calm himself down. “I don’t know.” he repeated. 

Turning to him, Feliks frowned. “She’s going to be locked up forever, Tolys,” he stated, already knowing what Tolys was thinking. “She doesn’t have the same charm that Ivan has. There’s no way they’d let her go free.” 

“I know,” Tolys unfastened his seatbelt and turned the car off. “I just...she’s going to be sitting in there. Watching. Glaring at me. Getting into my head. Something is going to go wrong a-and it’ll--”

“It  _ won’t _ be your fault,” Feliks corrected. “None of this is your fault. Besides, like I said, there’s no way that they’ll let her go.” He put his hand over Tolys’ to reassure him. “It’s all gonna be okay. She’ll be locked away and we can live our lives again.” 

Tolys swallowed. “I hope you’re right,” he muttered, opening the door. “I hope you’re right.” 

They both climbed out of the car and quickly made their way towards the large crowd. Thankfully, there were some guards there that led them into the court house unscathed. It was much quieter in the building, their footsteps echoing against the marbled tiling and walls. Just outside of the court room stood Eduard, who was pacing back and forth, and Iryna, who was sitting on the bench beside the door. Both Tolys and Feliks could tell that they had come together to the courthouse. 

Stopping mid pace, Eduard froze when seeing his friends approaching him. Without saying anything, he pulled Tolys into a hug, giving him a pat on the back. Pulling away, he took a deep breath. “How are you doing?” he asked in a low voice. 

“I’m okay,” Tolys answered. “A little anxious, but what else is new?” 

Nodding, Eduard looked to Feliks. “And how are you feeling? How’s the recovery going?” 

Feliks smiled. “Getting there.” He sniffed and looked up at the decor of the courthouse lobby. “How long do you think this will drag on?” 

“Dunno,” Eduard replied. “She pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. I can only assume she's going to milk it for all it's worth.” 

“That’s a bunch of horse shit,” Feliks groaned. “She knew what she was doing the whole time.” 

Iryna shifted in her seat, sighing. “ _ We  _ know that, but…” 

“She’s  _ going _ to jail,” Eduard mentioned. “She  _ has  _ to. We can’t have another shock like yesterday.” 

“Natalya’s  _ nothing  _ like Ivan. It’s  _ impossible _ to like her,” Feliks added. “That’s one thing we’ve got going for us.” 

The doors to the courtroom opened and the prosecutor kindly led them to their seats. They were to sit in the front rows on the prosecution side as it was proper protocol. As they waited, Tolys could feel his heart rate increase, his heart pounding and pounding in his chest. Thoughts and worries raced in his mind; he didn’t know if he could survive this. 

He broke out of his trance when he felt a gentle touch on his right hand. “Hey,” Feliks murmured. “Did you take your medicine this morning?” 

While he was on the road to recovery, physically and mentally, doctors were concerned about Tolys’ anxiety. Not only did they mention that he should have been diagnosed with it before the Incident, they knew it would be heightened as he dealt with the trauma. He had been given medication to take, but it was still a new habit that was forming, and Tolys would every now and again forget to take it. 

“I-I think so,” Tolys replied, trying to think back to this morning. He was trying to think; he had brushed his teeth, taken a shower, gotten dressed… “Maybe I didn’t. I don’t know.” 

“Okay, just remember to breathe. If it starts to feel like too much, try to count to 100,” Feliks said. 

Tolys smiled and nodded. “I’ll do my best.” 

“And if we have to come back again, try to remember to take your medicine. Okay?” 

“Of course.” 

“And when you’re on stand and if you feel overwhelmed, just look at me and I’ll make a funny face!” 

Tolys laughed. “Got it.” 

The room began to fill with family members of the victims and others who were invested in seeking justice. Soon, when the room was all too loud with voices, security guards burst open the doors, pulling Natalya along with them. The room suddenly grew quiet as everyone watched as they brought Natalya to her seat. Behind them was her lawyer, who already looked too exhausted to be there. 

As she was forced into her seat, Natalya looked over her shoulder, scanning the room. When she laid eyes on Tolys, she smirked, and proceeded to stare at him for several minutes. It took everything Tolys could to keep from making eye contact with her. He knew she was trying to get into his head so that he’d crack, but it wasn’t going to work. 

Today, at least. 

“One...two...three...four…” he counted under his breath. 

Eventually, jury members began trickling into the courtroom, taking their seats. 

“All rise for Judge Zajac!” The bailiff shouted. 

“Oh thank God,” Tolys muttered, quickly rising to his feet. 

Everyone in the courtroom stood up as the judge entered the room. When she sat down, everyone else followed suit. Tolys took a deep breath and waited for the judge to speak. 

“Good morning everyone. We are here today to call for the trial of the case of Natalya Arlovskaya,” she began, reading off of a paper. Laying the paper down, she looked over her reading glasses at Natalya. “Ms. Arlovskaya, you are being charged with 20 counts of murder,” 

“Only 20 counts?!” Feliks hissed under his breath. “Are you freaking kidding me? Didn’t she confess to more than that?” 

“Feliks, shh,” Tolys hushed. “There’s probably some reason as to why it’s so low…”

“Well, it’s dumb. It should be 30 counts…” Feliks muttered. 

“Ms. Arlovskaya, you pled not guilty by reason of insanity in your hearing. Does that still stand?” Judge Zajac finished. 

“Yes, your honor,” Natalya replied. 

“Do you still understand that this means you are confessing to the acts of the crimes, but due to mental illness, were unable to obtain self control, Ms. Arlovskaya?” 

“Yes, your Honor,” 

“And do you understand the ramifications if you are proven guilty?” 

“Yes, your Honor.” 

The judge then swore in the jury and took a deep breath as she looked over her papers. With a nod, the judge looked to the prosecution lawyer. “I believe we can start with the opening statements.” 

The prosecution lawyer stood up, pushing his tie against his chest so that it wouldn’t dip into the coffee cup he had sitting on the table. Stepping around the table, he stood in front of the jury and spoke: “Your Honor, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, the defendant here has committed terrible, unfathomable crimes. Men, innocent men who were going about their daily lives, some even trying to get back on the right foot, were killed in the hands of this woman. She’d sniff them out like a hound dog, trap them with her beauty and kill them mercilessly. Why? Because men, and these are her words, mind you, are puppets. Men don’t know how to think, men will do  _ anything _ to make a beautiful woman, like herself, happy. 

“Their torture was her pleasure. 

“The defense will try to paint her as someone who is severely mentally ill. They are going to try to convince you that her traumatic upbringing was what caused her to be this way now. They are going to try everything they can to make her into a sympathetic character. But I ask you to keep your mind clear and think rationally. The evidence I will present is clear as day, and will prove that Natalya Arlovskaya is guilty and knew what she was doing the entire time.” 

The prosecutor moved back over to his seat while the defense lawyer stood up, mustering up the strength to push through his exhaustion. “Your Honor, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I want you to imagine everything in your life disappearing in a matter of seconds. Imagine your world shattering for reasons you cannot understand. Imagine witnessing the death of people whom you dearly love. 

“Now, imagine this all happening when you were a child. 

“Natalya Arlovskaya lost everything when she was just five years old. Her parents were murdered, and not too long after entering an orphanage, she was taken away from her sister and brother. She was brought up by a couple who clearly were not qualified to be parents; they neglected her, used her to make their image look good in the eyes of the people so that her adoptive father could win elections. Her adoptive mother ignored her, wanted nothing to do with her, wanted to even  _ return _ her to the orphanage from whence she came. Can you imagine such rejection?

“The prosecution will try to tell you that she is a cold-hearted monster. However, there are many factors that need to be examined here. Natalya’s brother, Ivan Braginsky, instead of taking his sister to get the help she desperately needed, decided upon himself that he could ‘control it.’ He helped her find dates, he helped her with the act of killing, he helped her with moving the bodies. He did most of the work, and yet, what did he get? 5 years in jail  _ with  _ parole? How is that fair? 

“Natalya’s sister, Sofia Chernenko, met with her sister three years back. Again, upon meeting her sister and recognizing the fact that she needed help, completely ignored it…” 

“What?” Tolys heard Iryna gasp. “What is he talking about? That’s not true at all!” she then whispered. Looking over, Tolys saw Eduard whispering to her, calming her down. 

“...The prosecution asks that you think clearly as we sit through this trial. I ask the same, because Natalya Arlovskaya is a victim too; a victim of her upbringing. And therefore, needs to be put in a place where she will get the help that she rightfully deserves.” 

The defense finished his opening statement and slowly moved back to his seat where Natalya sat with a smug look on her face.  _ She really thinks she’s going to get out of this, doesn’t she? _ Toly thought to himself. 

The judge folded her hands in front of her and looked to the prosecutor. “The prosecution may call its first witness,” she mentioned, nodding. 

“The prosecution calls Tolys Laurinaitis to the stand,” the prosecutor announced, rising to his feet. 

Drawing in a quick breath, Tolys swallowed and stood up. As the bailiff led him over to the stand, Tolys tried to control his breathing. He wasn’t too nervous for the questions from the prosecutor, for he had rehearsed what would be asked. He was nervous about the questions from the defense. 

The bailiff asked him to raise his right hand. “Do you swear that in your testimony that you shall tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?” 

“I-I do.” Tolys answered. 

The bailiff gestured for him to take a seat at the stand, to which he obliged. Settled in his seat, he took a deep breath and looked straight ahead.  _ Just look at the lawyer. Just look at the lawyer.  _ He said to himself as the lawyer calmly approached him. 

“Please state your name,” he said. 

“Tolys Laurinaitis.” 

“Tolys, can you please tell us when you first met the defendant?” 

“Um, about two years ago. W-we went on a date.” 

“Where, if you don’t mind?” 

Tolys thought for a second. “Um, at that one place...it’s downtown? The fancy one? The name escapes me...” 

The prosecutor shrugged. “It’s not drastically imperative. How did the date go, Tolys? Well, I presume?” 

“Yes.” 

“When did you and the defendant begin dating seriously?” 

“I believe...two months in?” 

“Two months? Don’t you think that’s a little…?”

“Fast? Yes. Now that I’m...removed from the situation. It was very fast. But at the time, we got along perfectly a-and...she was kind of the girl of my dreams,” Tolys answered quickly, trying to hide his shame. “Or so I thought.” 

“And did you push for the two of you to be serious?” 

“No. Natalya did.” 

“I see. And when did you two decide to live together?” 

Tolys gulped. “About...six months in?” 

The prosecutor nodded and began pacing. “Was that your idea?” 

“No.” 

“Natalya’s?” 

Tolys gave a nod. He wanted to say that it was also Ivan’s idea, but he was instructed not to mention him as it would give Natalya’s lawyer an edge to put the blame on her brother.

“Mr. Laurinaitis, we need you to give a vocal answer, for the record keeper.” the judge said. 

“Yes, it was Natalya’s idea to move in together.” Tolys stated. 

“So by this time, the both of you were fairly settled in your relationship. At this point, how was the relationship between the two of you?” 

Tolys rubbed his hands against his pant legs and looked down briefly. “Our relationship in the beginning was good. We went on dates more often, we travelled to different places for vacation, we were…” He paused; was he really going to say this? He felt sick to his stomach. “We were happy.” 

“Then what happened, Tolys?” the prosecutor questioned. 

Searching his mind, he tried to remember the answer he had rehearsed to give. “About a year in, we started...arguing more. Natalya began belittling me. First, when we’d cook together. We both have different ways of cooking, and it didn’t mix well. It led to me to stop helping her cook in the kitchen. Then, she’d belittle the apartment I lived in at the time, which resulted in us renting a small house together. Then how...I’d perform...in bed. Soon, she was mocking everything I did on a day to day basis.” 

“Would you consider her abusive?” 

“Objection; leading the witness!” the defense called out. 

“Rephrase your question, please.” the judge muttered. 

“No problem, Your Honor,” The prosecutor smiled. “Did her...belittling language become the norm, Tolys?” 

“Yes.” Before the lawyer could continue his questioning, Tolys heard a distant, but persistent tapping that came across from the room. It was just a small glance, and he saw that Natalya was tapping her nails against the table.  _ She’s just trying to get into your head. Look away, look away, look away. _

“So Natalya was verbally abusive. Was she ever physically abusive towards you?” 

Tolys swallowed and looked straight ahead. “Yes, a couple of times.” He paused. “If I ever tried to defy her, she would hit me across the face and tell me that I was worthless.” 

“Were there times that you feared Natalya?” 

“Every day,” Tolys glanced over at Feliks, but looked back to the lawyer. “I didn’t want to make her upset, so I spent...I-I spent every day trying my best to keep her happy.” 

“And did you? Make her happy, I mean?” 

“No, sir.” 

The prosecutor paused, and thought for a moment. “Were you aware of her strength at the time?” 

“I always knew she was strong...I’d seen her lift some pretty heavy things when we moved into the house. I also knew that her job required her to have strength. From what I understood, as a nurse, she’d sometimes have to help patients to the bathroom or help them bathe or help them up after they’ve fallen.” 

“When did your relationship with Natalya start to unravel?” 

“Um, probably when Feliks moved in.” 

“Mm-hm, and who is Feliks? Can you describe him for us and the jury?” 

Tolys gulped. “He...I became his financial advisor, especially for his business. He was living in the basement of the bar that he owned, because he couldn’t afford to live anywhere else, and I offered him a place to sleep at our house.” 

“And was Natalya on board with that?” 

“It took a little convincing, but, yes. She was on board.” 

The tapping sound from across the room grew louder, making it harder and harder for Tolys to focus.  _ Won’t someone stop her? Surely I can’t be the only one who hears it?  _ Tolys thought. 

“You and Feliks became close, correct?” the prosecutor continued. 

“Yes, sir.” Tolys replied, trying to ignore the insistent tapping from across the room. 

“Did Feliks make you aware of Natalya’s behavior?” 

“Yes, sir.” 

“And how did that make Natalya react?” 

“She never liked him. She came up with irrational excuses to kick him out, which I never believed them and I refused to kick him out. He didn’t have a home, and even if he  _ did _ any of the things she claimed, it still wouldn’t be fair to kick him out.” 

The prosecutor nodded. “So you cared about Feliks a lot. You have a very big heart, Tolys,” He paused. “And was it Feliks who helped you decide to break up with Natalya?” 

“Yes, sir.” 

“And what happened after that?” 

“S-she left, but snuck into the house later that night to abduct us.” 

“Can you explain how she abducted the two of you?”

Tolys swallowed, twisting his right fingers around each other. This was one of the parts he was dreading. “Feliks and I...we  _ did _ put up a fight. We did our best to defend ourselves; attempting to pull her away from the other,” he swallowed and closed his eyes. The images from all that had happened that night returned to him and the pain was harder to swallow as he relived the situation in his head a second time. “I guess I was the stronger one out of the two of us. It didn’t take long for her to piece that together. After some tussling around, she targeted Feliks, and needed something to knock him out with. I watched her take one of the pans we had hanging on a rack in the kitchen and when he turned to run away, she hit him as hard as she could over the head,” Tolys paused again and could feel a few tears racing down his cheeks. “He fell to the ground and...I  _ think  _ I screamed. It’s hard to remember after that, because she came after me.” 

“And did she hit you over the head as well, Tolys?” 

“Yes. I-I surrendered once I saw that Feliks was hurt. I had done everything I could to protect him, and she still won. My heart couldn’t take it.” 

“What happened afterwards, Tolys?” 

Tolys reached up and wiped some of the tears away. “I woke up in the basement of the bar, and that’s where everything transpired. She had a collection of knives and was ready to kill both of us.” 

The prosecutor nodded and turned to the defense. “Your witness.” 

As the prosecutor sat back down in his seat, the defense lawyer stood up and put on his best smile. Though he still looked exhausted, Tolys tried not to underestimate him. His job was to get what his client wanted, and his client was Natalya, afterall. He was good at his job, or he wouldn’t be here, so Tolys had to be on guard. 

“You’re an accountant, correct?” he asked. 

“Yes, sir.” Tolys answered. 

“And you were financially advising Feliks at the time?” 

“Yes.” 

A pause. “Were you advising anyone else at the time?” 

“I-I advise a lot of people and their businesses.” 

The defense lawyer nodded, but smirked. “Let’s go back, just for a moment. You met Natalya, what, two years ago?” 

“Yes.” 

“On...a dating site?” 

“Y-yes, at first. Her brother also found out and then suggested we...” 

“But that wasn’t the only way you two knew about each other, was it?” the defense lawyer interrupted. 

Tolys gulped. “I’m unsure of what you mean.” 

“Are you aware that Natalya’s brother, Ivan, owns a flower shop?” 

Tolys fought the urge to roll his eyes. Did the defense think he was dumb? “Yes, sir.” 

“Were you also advising Ivan financially?” 

“I-I was his accountant. I managed his books, but he did not need much advice financially because he runs...he  _ ran  _ his business well.” Tolys answered. 

“Ah. So did Ivan introduce you to Natalya at all?” 

Tolys closed his eyes and took a moment before he answered. “We had a meeting. He went to help a customer briefly and while I waited, I went onto the dating app I was using at the time. I came across Natalya’s picture and before I swiped right, Ivan saw. He then mentioned that she was his sister and that he could...introduce the two of us if I wanted.” 

“So, would you say that Ivan was supportive of the relationship between you and his sister?” the defense attorney asked. 

Tolys hesitated. “Yes, he was supportive.” 

“And so the three of you became like family?  _ Especially  _ when you and my client moved in together.” 

“W-well, s-sure b-but…” 

“Can you describe what it was like to work with Ivan?” 

“Your Honor, what does this have to do with the defendant?” the prosecutor asked. 

“I can rephrase,” the defense attorney sighed, holding up his hand. “Was working with Ivan difficult?” 

“A-at times,” Tolys began. 

“And would that have caused a strain between you and Natalya? Stress from work infiltrating the home?” 

Tolys fidgeted in his seat; he had been warned by the prosecutor that the defense team would try to deflect and gaslight everything that happened between him and Natalya. They were truly committed to trying to prove that Natalya, though a murderer, was merely a victim of everything and everyone around her. They wanted to deflect all of her wrong doings to Ivan, and paint him as the  _ true  _ mastermind in all of this. 

“That’s not true,” Tolys stated. “Ivan and Natalya are two different people, and behave differently. Natalya went out of her way to make me miserable…” 

“But would you say that her brother knew how sick she was? If he knew, why would he--” 

“That’s not what it was!” Tolys snapped, slamming his hands on the arms of the chair. “ _ Natalya _ made me miserable.  _ Natalya  _ said horrible things to me, she verbally and physically abused me! You can’t rewrite  _ my  _ story to fit  _ your  _ narrative!” 

The defense lawyer stared at him in shock as a heavy silence settled over the courtroom. Tolys could feel his heart racing, and everyone’s eyes on him. “I-I’m sorry. I shouldn’t yell. I just...I just…Ivan doesn’t--”

“Mr. Laurinaitis, I’m going to have to ask you to answer the questions directly. Please try your best to leave your emotions out of your answers.” the judge asked. 

“How often was Ivan at your house you shared with Natalya?” the defense attorney asked. 

Tolys closed his eyes.  _ Count to 100...just count to 100 _ . “I don’t know. A lot?” 

“Can you make a guesstimate?” 

“I-I don’t know.” Tolys repeated. He couldn’t think straight. He kept losing track of what number he was on while counting.

“Three, five times a week?” 

“I don’t know!” 

“But can you confirm that he was heavily involved in your relationship with Natalya?” 

Tolys swallowed and glanced at Feliks from across the room. Feliks crossed his eyes and stuck out his tongue, in hopes to make Tolys feel a little more at ease. “Yes, but it was Natalya who wanted him constantly around.” Tolys then said, feeling a bit better. 

“You’re saying that Natalya chose to have her brother constantly lingering around the two of you? Knowing every single detail of your romantic relationship? Natalya  _ wanted _ that?” 

“Yes.” 

The defense attorney nodded. “Understood,” He turned away from Tolys and put his hands behind his back. “Did you know that Natalya was sick when you first got together with her.” 

“Natalya never told me much,” Tolys said. “All I knew was that she grew up in Belarus, she inherited some money from her parents after their deaths, and moved here to Warsaw three years ago.” 

“But did you know she was sick?” 

“ _ No _ .” 

“So you weren’t aware of the fact that she had technically been diagnosed with bipolar disorder when she was a child?” 

Tolys shook his head. It sounded like a lie. A lie Natalya made up to garner sympathy from her lawyer and the jury. Natalya  _ never _ mentioned being diagnosed with a mental illness, though Tolys wouldn’t completely rule it out. And Eduard, who was always thorough with his research, never made any mention of it. 

Tolys didn’t know what to believe. 

“Like I said, she never told me anything.” Tolys paused and leaned forward in his seat. “When was she diagnosed, if I may ask?” 

“When she was around the age of seven,” the attorney answered. 

“Hm,” Tolys nodded. “If that were true, wouldn’t she still be on medication for it? And I also don’t think bipolar disorder makes someone a murderer, either.” 

“Mr. Laurinaitis, please stick with answering the questions.” the judge reiterated. 

“My apologies, Your Honor.” Tolys replied. 

“No worries, Mr. Laurinaitis, we’re almost done.” The defense attorney smirked as he turned back around. “When you and Natalya were together, did you do everything you could to support her?” 

“Yes.” 

“So if you had known that she was sick, you would have still supported her and helped her get the aid that she needed?” 

Tolys hesitated. “Y-yes.” 

“No further que--” the attorney began. 

“But that doesn’t help your case, does it?” Tolys blurted. “It proves that she was ‘sick’ and that she--”

“Mr. Laurinaitis!” the judge shouted. “As a witness, your only job is to answer questions. Nothing more.” 

“I’m sorry, Your Honor, but--!” 

“Do not make me repeat myself, Mr. Laurinaitis.” 

Tolys gulped and looked away from the judge. “My apologies, Your Honor.” 

The judge nodded and looked to the attorney, folding her hands. “You may continue.” 

The defense attorney shrugged. “Actually, I have no further questions, Your Honor.” he said, moseying back to his seat. As Tolys watched him sit down, his eyes drifted towards Natalya, who of course, was staring at him. Once eye contact was made, she smirked as if she were silently saying:

“You fucked it up. As always.” 

As quickly as they made eye contact, Tolys looked back to the audience and swallowed. His mouth suddenly felt dry as his heart started to pound in his chest and his hands began to shake. The room felt as if it were spinning and spinning out of control. 

“If there are no further questions, then you are dismissed, Mr. Laurinaitis.” the judge stated. 

As the bailiff approached him, Tolys felt like he couldn’t breathe.  _ It doesn’t take much _ , The doctor had warned.  _ Especially for someone with as much trauma as you. _

Not wanting for Judge Zajac to yell at him again, Tolys stood up as calmly as he could. He silently told himself to breathe; one deep breath, one long exhale. Again. And again. And again. Stumbling slightly as he stepped down from the witness stand, Tolys let the bailiff guide him back to his seat. He could still feel Natalya’s eyes on him as he sat back down beside Feliks. 

Without saying a word, Feliks took Tolys’ hand and squeezed gently. 

“I messed up.” Tolys whispered as softly as he could. 

“No, no,” Feliks replied. He pushed back Tolys’ hair and smiled. “You did good.” 

“I should have just kept quiet. But I can’t. Her lawyer is trying to paint her as innocent, and she’s  _ not _ ,” Tolys continued. 

“I know,” 

“Am I just supposed to let her do this? Fabricate some lies? Am I not supposed to fight?” 

Feliks opened his mouth to reply, but before he could speak, the prosecutor stood up with simple poise: 

“I call Feliks Łukasiewicz to the stand.” 

Feliks didn’t want to testify; not with Tolys nearly crumbling to bits. 

It had been insanely hard getting back to reality for both of them. Both Feliks and Tolys had mounds of trauma to deal with, and they both handled it in different manners. Feliks, like always, acted as if nothing happened. He acted as if he didn’t get kidnapped, he didn’t get stabbed, he didn’t almost die; to him, the best way to handle everything was to pretend none of it had happened. It was always how he handled trauma and grief. It was the only way to survive in his world. 

Tolys, however, was at the lowest point he had ever been in his life. Tolys took all of the blame and internalized it; he felt that he was responsible for Natalya’s mental issues. He blamed himself for Feliks getting stabbed and just barely missing the kiss of death. In his mind, he was responsible for all of the negative atrocities that happened to him, even when he was consistently told that  _ none of it _ was his fault. 

Sitting beside him, Feliks could tell that Tolys was at another breaking point. He was torn with trying to fight for himself, but also feeling as if he should do what he normally did. Tolys was putting too much weight on his shoulders, as always, and Feliks couldn’t do anything to help him. 

As the bailiff approached them, Feliks looked over his shoulder at Eduard.  _ Sit with him for me, okay?  _ He silently said. Eduard seemed to silently understand as he slid closer to Tolys while Feliks stood up and was escorted to the stand. As he was sworn in, Feliks told himself to stand taller, square his shoulders and appear brave. 

Whatever the hell that meant. 

Taking his seat on the stand, he looked straight at Natalya in anger. He wanted to know how ready he was to send her to her doom, he wanted to know that he wasn’t afraid of her. 

“Please state your name for our record,” the prosecutor stated. 

“Feliks Łukasiewicz.” 

“And Feliks, can you tell us when you first met the defendant?” 

“When I was invited to stay at Tolys’ place,” he answered. 

“And, just to make sure we have consistency in the story, why did you move into Tolys’ place?” 

“I was homeless at the time. I had no money, and I had nowhere else to go. I was living in the basement of the bar at the time. After some financial consultations, Tolys discovered this and was kind enough to open his house to me.” Feliks explained. 

“What happened to your money, Feliks?” the prosecutor questioned. 

Rubbing his hands on his pant legs, Feliks swallowed. “Spent it all,” He then gave a nervous grin. “I’ve always had bad spending habits.” 

“What did you spend it on?” 

“Clothes. Shoes. Ma--more clothes. You know, the unimportant stuff.” 

The prosecutor nodded, wanting to move on quickly. “What were your first impressions of Natalya?” 

Feliks accidentally snorted, and quickly put on a serious face. “At first? Pretty. She’s very pretty, and I’m sure a lot of people out there would love to be as pretty as she is,” Clearing his throat, he folded his hands in his lap and leaned back. “But then she started talking to Tolys. And me, I guess. And just by the tone of her voice, I could tell she had a mean personality. And sometimes that can be chill, you know? Like sometimes people mistake mean personalities for someone who’s just being blunt. But that’s not Natalya at all. She’s  _ cruel _ and mean.” 

“Can you describe how cruel she is? Are there any instances that you can point out?” 

“Oh, plenty. From the get-go, she wanted me to leave. It started with her acting like,” He paused and looked up at the judge. “How strict are the language rules here?” 

“Be civil, please.” Judge Zajac requested. 

“Okay, she was acting very harsh towards me. She’d follow me around the house when Tolys wasn’t around, watching my every move. I think she was trying to analyze my behavior, you know? Like, try to get into my head so she could manipulate me. I clocked it right away,” He paused to take a breath. “But then she’d say things or do things to try to get Tolys to hate me.” 

“Can you give an example?” the prosecutor requested again. 

“Of course,” Feliks said, shrugging. “She would often blame me for the silliest little things. Like if the house was slightly messy, she’d blame it on me. If someone took the last of something in the kitchen, it was suddenly  _ my  _ fault. Even  _ if  _ I had just watched her take it. Then, after I had stopped her from slapping Tolys, for absolutely no reason, by the way, she said that I was a bad influence on  _ Tolys _ .” 

“You witnessed Natalya physically abusing Tolys?” 

“Well, I put a stop to it before she could do so.” Feliks clarified. “I grabbed her wrist.” 

“So, Natalya clearly had no shame in hurting Tolys in front of others?” 

“Definitely. The same goes for verbal abuse too.” 

“Did this make you concerned?” 

“Well,  _ yeah _ . I mean, most bad people will try to filter out their bad behavior to get on people’s good side. Natalya doesn’t even have a filter. She does whatever she pleases.” 

“Did you ever suspect that Natalya might be part of something...sinister?” The prosecutor began pacing again, keeping his head low as he looked down at the floor. 

“I always felt that something wasn’t right with her. I could never put my finger on it on what it was exactly, but I knew something was off. However, I don’t think any of us caught on that she was  _ killing  _ people until the very last minute.” 

“Explain further, please.” 

“For example, after Tolys and I returned from London, I found Natalya’s journal. You know, the one where she kept all of the pictures of her victims?  _ Graphic  _ pictures, mind you? Blood, guts, close up shots. Everything was in that thing. And Tolys was listed down as ‘The Ultimate Puppet.’ But I only found the journal right before she beat us over the head and stuffed us in the trunk of her car.” 

“Can you tell us what happened next?” 

Feliks took a deep breath; they had gone over that Feliks would most likely be the one to recount the whole situation that had occurred in depth. The prosecutor had realized early on that Tolys was extremely fragile and would probably have a panic attack as talking about the situation would be a major trigger. He promised that he would do his best to get concise answers from Tolys and call it a day. Feliks agreed that he would be fine to retell everything, because he wanted the crazy woman to go to jail for what she had done. 

But now that he was on the stand, he suddenly felt nervous. 

“I woke up tied to a table,” he started. 

“Was Tolys with you as well?” the prosecutor asked, just like they had rehearsed. 

“Yes, he was tied to a chair across from me. Natalya had this evil grin plastered all over her face, and was ready to...torture us, for a lack of better terms.” 

“Was anyone else there with the three of you?” 

“Ivan was there, but...he was trying to persuade Natalya not to do anything she’d regret. Saying that she was just upset because Tolys had just broken up with her and that she needed some time to cool down. Natalya didn’t bother to listen, broke all of Tolys’ fingers on his left hand. She laughed, and I could have sworn she got off on his pain. Some time after that, Ivan left, to which we waited until he got back.” 

“Why wait?” 

“Natalya wanted him to watch. She wanted him to be a part of it. I guess he never witnessed her...at work. And she wanted him to see that.” 

“So...did he return?” 

Feliks hesitated and glanced at Iryna. The problem with giving a testimony was that you simply had to tell your story; and once your story was out there, the lawyers could twist any part of the story in any way they wanted. Now that he had gotten to know Iryna more in the time of his healing, he knew that she was nothing like her brother and sister. She was kind hearted and loving, a trait that Ivan and Natalya clearly missed out on. She and Feliks had become fast friends as they talked about various things. He soon found out how goofy and silly Iryna was once she brought down the protective barrier she carried with her. And he knew that once he mentioned her name, that  _ damn  _ defense lawyer would twist her character to make Natalya the victim. 

“Yes, and he had brought his older sister with him.” Feliks answered, mumbling. 

“And by his older sister, you mean…?” 

“Sofia Chernenko, or Iryna Braginskaya is her given name.” 

“Was she involved with Natalya’s antics as well?” 

Feliks shook his head. “Never. If it wasn’t for her, Tolys and I would be dead. For sure.” 

“She freed you both?” 

“Yes, she untied our bindings while Natalya and Ivan were arguing. And at some point, Natalya was getting ready to kill me first, I kicked her in the face and made a run for it. Tolys did too, but stumbled. Natalya was aiming for him because this whole ordeal was really about her wanting to kill  _ him _ , but I pushed him out of the way last minute.” 

“So you were the one who got stabbed?”

“Yes.” 

“By Natalya? The defendant?” 

“Yes,” He paused. “I almost didn’t make it, either. She’s a nurse. Or,  _ was _ a nurse. So she knows anatomy incredibly well. She knew  _ exactly  _ where to drive that knife to be an instant kill. Or, a near instant kill, in my case. ‘Cause you know, I survived,” He looked over to Natalya who was scowling at him. He smirked. “Much to her dismay, I gather.” 

“We’re glad you are here to tell us your story, Feliks,” the prosecutor said. “Do you remember anything that happened after she stabbed you?” 

“She and Ivan got in another fight after she was about to kill Tolys. She cut Ivan around the neck or something, so he was bleeding too. She had our back to us, Tolys was able to pick up a pipe and hit her across the head. Then she fell unconscious.” 

“And that’s how you and Tolys were able to escape?” 

“Yes, because by then, the authorities had come and were able to get us out of there.”

With a nod, the prosecutor looked to the defense. “Your witness.” 

Once again, the defense lawyer stood up and made his way to Feliks. Feliks had already made up his mind that he didn’t like the lawyer; anyone in their right mind wouldn’t defend a monster like Natalya. He supposed the lawyer needed money, because that seemed to be the only legitimate excuse.

“Remind me, you said that when you first met Natalya, you thought something was off?” the defense lawyer asked. 

“ _ No _ , I said she was pretty. That was my first impression of her.” Feliks answered rather harshly.  _ Get it right. Don’t twist my words. _ He thought to himself. 

“Right, right, but you  _ did  _ say at some point that you felt that something was off about her, correct?” 

“Yes, I said that she was mean and that something didn’t seem right with her.”  _ Do your ears work? _ Feliks thought. 

“What, exactly, felt off to you?” 

Feliks couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “That something sinister was sleeping underneath that pretty exterior she put out. And that’s all it is;  _ a pretty exterior _ . She doesn’t even attempt to be nice or anything. That’s how much she relies on her looks to get what she wants. It’s crazy.” 

The defense lawyer frowned; he wasn’t a fan of how blunt Feliks was being. He wanted him to be easy to push around like Tolys, which was  _ not  _ going to happen. “Very well. Can you please describe your  _ relationship  _ with Tolys?” 

“At the time I met Natalya or now?” Feliks answered. 

“Now. How is your relationship now?” 

“We’re very close friends.” Feliks looked at his fingernails; he wasn’t going to go in full detail if he didn’t have to. 

“Can you tell us what your job is, Feliks?” 

“I’m an entertainer.” 

“And what does that pertain to?” 

Feliks smiled. “Entertaining people, of course.” 

“With what kind of entertainment?” 

“Dancing, mostly.” 

Feliks could tell that the lawyer was getting frustrated with his evasiveness. The lawyer himself knew that if the news of Feliks’ real job as a drag queen was given to the jury, the close-minded members would react negatively (even though all jury members were to be neutral, Feliks knew that they never were). Feliks knew what would happen if people knew that he was a drag queen; they’d judge him for being  _ strange _ . 

“I heard a rumor that you work during the night time, Feliks,” 

“Yes. And what are you implying?” Feliks asked. 

“I want you to be specific about what you do for a living, Feliks.” 

Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes before answering. “Yes, I work mostly at night. I entertain people. I make people laugh. I shock them. I make them forget about the things that worry them in the daytime. I do nothing harmful to anyone.” 

“You really like  _ dancing  _ around the truth here, don’t you, Feliks?” the lawyer asked. There were a few chuckles from the jury, but Feliks groaned. “What kind of dancing do you do, Feliks?” 

“The kind you do on a stage.” 

“Mr. Łukasiewicz, please answer the question. What is it that you do for a living?” the judge said. Even by the tone of her voice, she was annoyed by Feliks’ evasiveness. 

_ Damn. _ He shifted in his seat and made sure he didn’t look at anyone. “I’m an entertain--”

“Be  _ specific _ .” the lawyer hissed. 

“Fine! I’m a drag queen. I like to dress up and do little comedy...dances.” Feliks glanced over at Tolys who had seemed to calm down from his testimony. 

“So, you like to dress up like a woman and seduce men at night?” 

Feliks glared at the lawyer.  _ You bigotted-- _ “ _ No _ . I told you, I dance on stage. I make people laugh. There’s nothing sexual about it. It’s just  _ entertainment _ .”

“Typically--”

“I’m sorry,  _ sir _ , but is it a  _ crime _ to dance on stage and make people laugh?” Feliks hissed. 

The lawyer took a deep breath and put on his best, shark-like smile. “No, but I find it interesting that Tolys suddenly wanted to break up with my client when he got closer to you. Especially knowing you like to dress up like a woman. It kind of sounds like you seduced him. Can you explain that, Feliks?” 

“You heard it from him, didn’t you? I helped him realize that she was  _ awful _ . I helped him see that he deserved better. There was no  _ seducing _ ; I was just a friend who was trying to help him see what was really going on!” Feliks explained. 

“Can you describe the time you and Tolys took to travel in London? It was for a gig of yours, am I correct?” This lawyer wasn’t going to stop. 

“Yep, it was exactly that. We travelled to London, I performed two nights at a club, then we came home.” 

“But that was when you and Tolys got really close to each other, correct?”

Feliks hesitated and swallowed. “Sure,” 

“So, what happened there? Something must’ve happened if Tolys comes home and immediately wants to break up with his girlfriend of two years.” 

Feliks thought carefully for a moment. “We talked.” 

“Talked?” 

“Yes,  _ talked _ . We ran into a friend who works in psychology. They talked to Tolys and helped him come up with an approach to break up with Natalya. I wasn’t the only one involved.” 

“A  _ plan _ ? So you helped Tolys  _ plan  _ to break up with her?  _ Why _ ?” 

“He deserves better,” Feliks repeated. “Wouldn’t you want your friend to be happy,  _ sir _ ? I thought good friends looked out for each other.” 

The lawyer gave a defeated nod and put his hands behind his back. “What else occured in London? Surely the two of you went sightseeing?” 

Feliks nodded. “Mmhm, we saw that giant ferris wheel. It’s so much bigger in real life. The pictures don’t do it justice.” 

The room went quiet as the lawyer wanted him to continue. 

“We also just hung out.” Feliks concluded. 

“Hung out? Where?” 

Feliks shrugged indifferently. “London.” There were some people in the room who chuckled, and he smiled at himself. Oh how he loved being a smartass sometimes. 

“I’m sorry , are you trying to insinuate that Feliks and Tolys had intimate relations during their time in London?” Judge Zajac interrupted. 

“Yes, Your Honor.” the lawyer replied. 

“And what would this have to do with the case?” she asked further. 

The lawyer gulped. “Your Honor, it is imperative for the jury to have as much information as they possibly can. If Tolys and Feliks were intimate with each other, it could explain--” 

Judge Zajac sighed and held up her hand. “Very well, then. Mr. Łukasiewicz, would please answer me directly: were you and Mr. Laurinaitis ever intimate with each other?” 

Feliks thought for a moment about his answer. “How are we defining intimate?” he asked. 

“Sexually.” the judge clarified. 

Nodding, Feliks looked down at his hands. “Hm, we did have a bit of fun on our trip. Sightseeing, drinking, partying,  _ jumping _ on the  _ bed _ like a trampoline. It was fun.” 

“Answer the question, Feliks!” the lawyer hissed. 

“I just did. I said we jumped on the bed.” He grinned. “Do you not know how euphemisms work?” 

“Your Honor--!” the lawyer began. 

“He gave you his answer. Now get back to the point.” she muttered. 

“If it helps, it was consensual on both parts. There was no  _ seducing _ as one might imply,” Feliks added, mumbling under his breath. He could already tell what the older members of the jury were thinking, and he wanted to do his best to put an end to it. 

“Very well,” the lawyer groaned. “So, Natalya found out about this, didn’t she?” 

“Yes,” Feliks answered. 

“And this upset her, yes? Rightfully so, I could imagine.” 

Feliks closed his eyes to hide the fact that he was annoyed.  _ Yes, the  _ crazy  _ straight girl is the  _ victim _ in all of this _ . He thought before giving his reply. “It would upset anyone, I suppose. But would you justify someone going on a murderous rampage as a response to finding out your long-term boyfriend cheated on you?” 

“If someone is mentally ill, they might not know how to react in a  _ healthy _ manner.” The lawyer stood right in front of the witness stand, and faced Feliks. He had a smug smirk on his face, a smirk that resembled Natalya’s as if he had just proved a point. Feliks wasn’t sure how solid his case was going quite yet, but the lawyer himself seemed proud of himself. 

“Right, ‘cause she’s bipolar. So what, she did all of this because she wasn’t on meds?” Feliks asked. “Isn’t that like, stereotyping? Continuing the stigma? Honestly sir, I don’t think anything of what she did had to do with her mental illness. I think she did because she knew she could seduce men with her beauty and kill them for the hell of it. She knew what she was doing.” 

“Can you tell us your interactions with Natalya’s brother for us? If he gave Mr. Laurinaitis problems, I’m sure he did the same for you.” the lawyer asked, moving on rather quickly. 

Feliks leaned back in his chair and took a deep breath, striving for patience. “Right. I didn’t have the best interactions with Ivan, but does anyone?” he answered. 

“Can you elaborate?” 

“My first interaction with him, well, he was quite rude.” 

“How so?” 

“He came barging into the bar, demanding that I sell it to him. It started out as a conversation, I guess, I gave him five shots of vodka per his request. When I continued to tell him that I wasn’t planning on selling my bar, he got angrier and angrier. Broke a shot--” Feliks explained. 

The lawyer’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “He acted violently? Under the influence?” 

“Sort of. He broke it because he was squeezing it too hard because he wasn’t getting his way.” 

There was a smirk on the lawyer’s face, as well as Natalya’s when Feliks glanced at her. “So, he’s incredibly strong,” he said. “Did you ever feel comfortable around Ivan?” 

“No--”

“He was there that night, wasn’t he? The night of the Incident?” 

“Where  _ she  _ almost killed me? Yeah, sure, he was there. But it’s not like he  _ did  _ anything. He tried to convince Natalya to not kill us, but it didn’t work. He then got cut himself by his own sister. Did  _ she _ tell you that?” 

“Why had he been there, though? Do you know  _ why  _ he was present?”

“I don’t know. Shouldn’t you ask your client? I’m sure she could tell you why he was there.” Feliks said, smugly. 

“But, would you say that Ivan made you feel on edge? That you were scared of what he might do?” 

“Sure, but--”

“Did you ever feel threatened by Ivan Braginsky?” 

“Yes, but--”

“No further questions, then.” the lawyer concluded, walking back to his seat. 

“You may go back to your seat, Mr. Łukasiewicz.” Judge Sajac said. 

As the bailiff escorted Feliks back to his seat, he grinned at Tolys. When he sat down, he patted Tolys’ knee and said: “This lawyer is crazy, right? He doesn’t have much of a case.” 

Eduard looked past Tolys to Feliks and frowned. “All he has to do is create reasonable doubt,” he said. “If he can create enough reasonable doubt that Natalya should have been on medication and that it was possibly  _ Ivan  _ doing the dirty work, not her, she can be acquitted.” 

Feliks frowned. “That makes zero sense.”

“The defense lawyer doesn’t have to  _ prove  _ that she  _ didn’t _ commit those crimes. He just has to create enough doubt--” Eduard started to clarify. 

“You mean to tell me they can just put the blame on someone else and she’ll get out free? Only to do it all again?” Feliks turned away and watched as the prosecutor stood up, ready to call his next witness. “What the hell, that’s not right.” 

“It’s how the system works,” Eduard stated. “Unfortunate, I know. But justice usually prevails.”

“The prosecution calls…” The prosecutor called up several different witnesses; some were people who worked alongside Natalya at work. They were asked if they were aware of Natalya’s behaviors, how she was at work, if they knew that she was promiscuous while in a long-term relationship. It was difficult to tell if the testimonies of these witnesses were helping or not; too many of them were vague in their descriptions. 

Some claimed that they noticed how manipulative Natalya was at work and how terribly she would treat patients at the hospital. Others claimed that she was distant and strange, but was never caught doing anything bad. All of her coworkers agreed that she was probably mentally ill and needed to be on medication. All of her coworkers also agreed that her brother, Ivan, made them feel uncomfortable. 

The main problem was that Natalya was secretive to everyone, so no one really knew what she did in her spare time. 

The same went for the majority of her victims; two mothers of two different victims came up to testify briefly. From their claims, both of their sons were secretive about their lives. And because they were adults, their parents did not push to know what was happening. Neither of them had ever met Natalya or heard of her, which begged the question:

Did she  _ tell  _ them to keep whatever relationship they had a  _ secret _ ?

The trial was to be adjourned for another day, where more victims’ family members, Eduard and Iryna would be questioned, as well as more evidence towards Natalya’s crimes would be presented. There was a lot to get through in the trial; no one knew how long the trial would go on for. 

It wasn’t until 5:00pm when the whole crew gathered in Eduard’s small apartment to have dinner. They had ordered takeout, and were quiet as they unpacked the large bag filled to the brim with food containers. Once settled in their seats, they began quietly eating until Feliks broke the silence. 

“So, how’s everyone feeling so far?” he asked, picking at his food. 

Everyone mumbled in response. 

“The defense doesn’t have the strongest case ever. I’m assuming that there’s more manipulation that’s going to happen,” Eduard said, chewing on his food. “I wouldn’t be surprised if a sob story will come into play. And my bets are on that she will  _ never _ take the stand. Natalya really is the master manipulator in all of this.” 

Iryna set her fork down next to her plate. “She did go through a lot,” she said, quietly. “I’m not saying it’s an excuse, but, she--”

“We won’t deny that,” Eduard argued. “But, she should still be locked up somewhere, away from society.” 

“If we want to have a power play against her, what do you think we should do?” Tolys asked. “Like Eduard said, the defense isn’t that strong, but it could be enough to--”

“There’s still a lot to be presented. Evidence from the police…” Eduard said, pausing briefly. “But perhaps there is something that can be done to completely destroy the defense’s claims. Perhaps there is  _ someone _ who can debunk the defense’s deflection of what Natalya has done.” He grimaced and shook his head. “I don’t think I can say it though,” 

“What? Say what?” Tolys asked. 

Eduard frowned and took a moment before he spoke. “Ivan,” he said. “We need Ivan.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! 
> 
> I hope you're all doing well, staying healthy and staying home! Here is a new chapter! It's a little on the long side, I apologize, but I feel like a lot of trial scenes have a lot of stuff in them. This, of course, is just part one of the big trial. I'm curious to what you all think of what's going on so far. 
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Feel free to leave a comment or a critique! The next chapter will be uploaded soon! 
> 
> -Katelyn (violinia)


	22. The Trial, part 2

“ _ Ivan _ ? You’re suggesting we bring  _ Ivan _ into this?!” Tolys asked, raising his voice. He clenched his fists and rested them in his lap, grinding his teeth. Why would Eduard suggest that  _ Ivan _ get involved in this court case? He had made his decision and was facing the consequences for his actions over the years. Why attempt to give him a chance to save  _ himself _ ?

“Hear me out,” Eduard said, raising his hands in defense. “So far, there hasn’t been a  _ definite _ piece of evidence that proves Natalya’s guilt.”

“My testimony wasn’t damning enough?!” Tolys added. “Or Feliks’?!” 

“ _ All  _ of our testimonies prove that she’s guilty. But remember, this is about  _ reasonable doubt _ . This whole case is a mess, including Ivan’s involvement. Does anyone really know why he helped her?” Eduard continued. “Not to mention, Natalya is pretty much  _ confessing  _ that she’s done these actions, but she only acted so because of her ‘mental state.’ Despite us all knowing she was very much in her right mind when she did all that she did. Her defense lawyer is doing a fair enough job at creating sympathy for Natalya. I mean, come on; her parents were murdered when she was five. She was separated from her brother and sister, adopted by two people who really shouldn’t have been parents, and was neglected. She’s misunderstood; who  _ wouldn’t _ feel bad for her?” 

“But she killed people!!!” Feliks shouted, slamming a fist on the table. 

“The unresolved issue about her brother and his role gives Natalya a potential way out. He never testified in his case, remember? He hardly even had a case; he just pled guilty and then was given a short sentence that included parole. If the jury doesn’t know where he fits into this, how are they to know that Ivan  _ wasn’t  _ the  _ real _ Puppeteer all along? Controlling his mentally ill sister to kill men that looked like Tolys, a man whom he loved and felt he could never have?” Eduard added. 

“Okay, but we don’t actually  _ know _ if Ivan ever had feelings for me,” Tolys said. 

Eduard shrugged and continued in his theories. “That’s besides the point. Plus, the interest in serial killers and the psychology around them has increased over the years. People feel  _ sympathetic  _ towards them because of their broken upbringing. And I think Natalya  _ knows _ this, or at least her lawyer does, so why not convince everyone else that she’s  _ broken  _ and  _ sick _ and her big, scary older brother took advantage of that for entertainment purposes?” 

Tolys thought for a moment, processing Eduard’s words. “So, what you’re saying is, she’s still  _ manipulating _ everyone for her benefit?” he asked. 

Eduard smiled and nodded. “Exactly. So, what better way to destroy a good manipulator’s plan…” 

“Then to bring in another manipulator?” Iryna chimed in, setting her napkin beside her plate. 

“Bingo!” Eduard froze once realizing that it was Iryna who said it. He knew this was all such a complicated situation for her, and it must hurt to hear her remaining family members be called manipulators and other horrible things. The love she had for her brother and sister ran deep, despite everything they had done. 

“Iryna, I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean--” Eduard began to apologize. 

“No, no, it’s true,” Iryna said. “My brother and sister are...awful people. I’ve accepted that now. And they  _ both  _ need to face the consequences.” She closed her eyes as she took a deep breath and sighed. “Putting the two of them against each other, however, is a risk. It could either go in our favor, or it could go in  _ Natalya’s _ favor.” 

“You seriously think that Ivan  _ wouldn’t _ testify against her?” Eduard asked. “She’s the sole reason as to why he’s in the predicament that he’s in.”

“It depends,” Iryna said, shifting in her seat. She looked to Eduard. “It depends upon who presents the idea to him.” 

Intrigued, Eduard smiled. “Of course; if one of us presents the idea to Ivan, he’ll see through it. He has nothing to prove to us, so he most likely wouldn’t take the bait,” A pause. “Well, maybe if  _ Tolys _ presen--”

“Not in a million years,” Tolys blurted. 

“So, we need to come up with some sort of plan,” Eduard said. 

“I’ll go,” Iryna said. “He’ll listen to me.” 

“Iryna, are you  _ sure _ ?” Eduard asked. 

“He’s wanted to see me for years, and he  _ wants _ to be on my good side. If I tell him he should do something, especially something that will paint him as a good person, he’s more likely to do it,” She folded her hands in front of her. “I’ll go visit him and I’ll talk to him. I’ll present the idea as a means for him to clear his name; that’s the only way for him to see that taking the stand will benefit  _ him _ .” She sighed. “He wants a family again; that’s partially why he clung to Natalya so much, and she knew that. They both manipulated each other.” 

Eduard nodded, starting to understand what Iryna was getting at. “Right, and he’s always seen you as a shining star in the night to lead him to the right choices. If you visit him, tell him that there’s a way for him to clear his name…”

“And a possible way for him to shorten his sentence,” Iryna added, leaning forward a bit. 

“There’s a good chance that he’ll take the bait and testify! Because he wants to make  _ you  _ happy!” Eduard finished, grinning. “It sounds like we have a plan. What do you think, should we go tomorrow?” 

Iryna nodded. “I’ll do my best.” 

It made sense. 

It made sense to get the one person who, A, was still alive and B, the only person who knew what Natalya did, to take a stand against her. It made sense given the fact that in the trial, all of Natalya’s crimes were being deflected onto him, Ivan should give his side of the story. He was, after all,  _ only  _ an accomplice. 

Wanting to do what was right, Iryna naturally volunteered and Eduard kindly drove her to the prison to visit her younger brother. 

“Do you want me to come in with you?” Eduard asked. The two of them were standing outside of the car in the parking lot. 

Tugging on her jacket to keep in warmth and glancing at the prosecutor’s business card in her hand, Iryna sighed. She felt indifferent towards her brother at the moment, and knew he’d do anything to get on her best side once again. She tried to prepare herself mentally to stand firm in her ground, not to be swayed either way. She was simply there to convince him to call the prosecutor, who would then have to convince the judge to have him testify at the trial. 

It was a big task, but it was something Iryna could do with ease. Probably. 

Iryna hesitated in her answer. “Do you think we could at least walk in together?” she asked. “I know I should see him alone…”

“It’s no problem,” Eduard said, with a smile. 

Iryna returned the smile. As the two of them walked together, Iryna appreciated Eduard’s kindness towards her. Ever since they had met, he had been so sweet and caring, it practically caught her off guard nearly every day. At first, it made her wary, but when she realized he meant no harm, she felt more relaxed than she had in a long time. 

She was thankful that he was there to help her through this strange and difficult time. 

Stepping inside, Iryna walked up to the counter where a woman sat behind a glass window and was doodling on a piece of paper to make the time pass quicker. “Excuse me?” Iryna said, gently. The woman looked up from her drawing, groaned and dropped the pen dramatically.  _ They must not get a lot of people here that often _ . Iryna thought, given the woman’s reaction. “I’m here to visit Ivan Braginsky.” 

The woman looked at her, surprised, and turned to her computer. “You’re his first visitor,” she said, grumbling. “Your name?” 

“Um, Iryna Braginskaya,” After all the years she had spent using a different name, it felt strange to be saying her given name again. The whole world had been watching the trial, and knew that she was both Sofia Chernenko and Iryna Braginskaya, and she knew that the people who had been looking for her most likely had moved on by now. 

“Right. You’re  _ his _ sister,” the woman added. “He’s been asking if you’d called to set up an appointment to see him, even though we’ve  _ told  _ him that’s  _ not _ how it works around here. Won’t shut up about it.” 

“I-I told him I’d see him occasionally,” Iryna said. “He doesn’t know I’m coming today, so it will be a surprise.” 

The woman said nothing as she buzzed the door open and as two guards came to take Iryna down to the visitation room, she looked to Eduard. “You’ll wait here, right?” she asked. 

Eduard nodded. “I’ll be here.” 

With that, Iryna nodded as well and followed the guards through the hallways to the visitor’s room. Fortunately, Ivan had been placed in a minimum security prison, so the visitor’s room was practically a lounge with several tables scattered throughout for people to sit. One of the guards told her to take a seat anywhere she’d like and Ivan would be there to join her momentarily. 

When Iryna imagined reuniting with her brother and sister, she dreamed of a happier day. She had pictured the three of them in a group hug, laughing, reminiscing, crying, and promising to be there for each other for eternity. At times, she had hoped the three of them would venture back to their original home and pay respects to their parents’ graves; something they were never able to do. She had imagined good times with her siblings once reunited. 

Unfortunately, her brother and sister proved to be two different monsters entirely. As saddening as it was, Iryna couldn’t help but wonder: would they have turned out that way if they had stayed together as a family? 

Wandering around for a bit, Iryna noticed that the old, green tile floor was sticky and made an awful sound as she walked. Eventually, she took a seat at a table in the far corner, seeing that it was the least dirty. Starting to feel a bit of dread in the pit of her stomach, Iryna wished she hadn’t come. She had left her purse and other belongings in Eduard’s car, knowing that they wouldn’t have let her keep them for the duration of the visit. She still had the prosecutor’s business cards gripped in her hand and could feel the paper going soft from the sweat of the palm of her hand. 

Soon, the two guards that had led her to the room returned with Ivan linked in their arms. It was a rather silly sight to see, given that Ivan towered over them and looked as if he didn’t need guards himself. 

Iryna stood up and watched as they took off the handcuffs and put on her best smile. The guards stepped away and Ivan twisted his wrists from the pain from the handcuffs. Before Iryna could say hello, Ivan pulled her in for a tight hug, but it was short lived. 

“No touching!!” the guards shouted. 

Saying nothing, Ivan moved away and sat down. Iryna followed suit and folded her hands in front of her. “So,” she said, hoping her voice didn’t sound shaky. “How are you?” 

“I thought you’d come visit me sooner,” Ivan said, ignoring her question. He sounded somewhat annoyed, but any anger he had towards his sister seemed to disappear immediately when he smiled at her. “But I’m glad you are finally here.” 

“I’m sorry; Natalya’s trial is...much more time consuming than any of us thought it would be.” Iryna explained. 

Ivan nodded. “I heard she’s pleading not guilty,” 

“By reason of insanity.” 

Ivan nodded once again. He seemed slightly amused at the fact. “And what would she get out of that?” 

Iryna shrugged. “She might be placed in a mental institution instead of prison.” 

“Aren’t they the same thing?” 

“I think she would hold more rights in an institution than a prison,” Iryna paused. “Or, she could potentially be released back into the real world if she…somehow ‘gets better.’” 

“I see,” Ivan sniffed. “How is the trial going then? Is there a jury?” 

“Yes, there’s a jury,” Iryna crossed her arms and leaned against the table. “The trial is...that’s kind of why I came here. Natalya’s defense team is attempting to say that  _ you  _ were manipulating  _ her  _ into committing those crimes.” 

Ivan leaned back in shock. “What?” 

“And because you never had a trial, never spoke on the stand, they’re taking what they can and running with it. They're even trying to say that Feliks seduced Tolys…which resulted in her going berserk because her boyfriend 'cheated on her.' They're saying that I never cared about her, that  _ you  _ never cared about her, that  _ no one  _ cared about her, not enough to get her help,” Iryna swallowed; she wished she could have some water to drink. It was awfully dry in the visiting room. “There’s not much we can do, other than present the already damning evidence and hope for the best.” 

Ivan scratched his chin and smirked; he was catching on to his sister’s plan. “Unless?” 

“Unless you...decide you want to testify against her. It would unravel the defense teams case, and she would get the sentencing she deserves.” Iryna finished. 

Smiling, Ivan nodded, processing his sister’s words. “I see,” He slouched a bit, putting one arm behind the chair. “Have you heard from any of our other relatives? Uncle Sergey? Aunt Katya?” 

“W-what?” Iryna stammered. 

“I got in touch with Uncle Sergey a while ago, but it was very brief. He was very sick at the time; I think the alcoholism caught up to him. That’s where I got our old photo album from; Uncle Sergey had it,” Ivan continued as if the previous conversation had never happened. “And Aunt Katya, well, I tried to contact her, but  she and Uncle Igor had moved out of Russia a long time ago, remember? Before _ everything _ happened. Maybe you don’t remember; I had to remind myself, afterall. I thought they lived--”

“Are you just going to ignore what I just told you?!” Iryna asked, frustrated. 

Ivan stared at her for a moment. “Hm?” 

“I just told you about the trial and how everyone is trying to pin it on  _ you _ . Have you nothing to say about that?” 

“Oh,” Ivan frowned and sat up. “I thought we would talk about other things. Catch up. You know, you came to visit  _ me _ . Why should we talk about  _ her _ ? We know Natalya will be found guilty and put  _ somewhere _ ; why worry about it so much?” 

“You’re okay with what they’re saying about you?” 

“No, but what can be done about it?”

“You can  _ testify _ and  _ clear your name _ .” 

Ivan thought carefully for a moment. He scowled. “I’m sorry, did you come here to visit me or to tell me to do  _ something _ ?” 

“I came to visit,” Iryna said. “But I also came to discuss this matter when it comes to our--”

“I want nothing to do with her!” Ivan slammed his hand on the table and leaned forward, getting in his older sister’s face. Iryna jumped at the sudden act, but did not move away. She had learned long ago that in order to stand her ground against someone who was trying to scare her, she had to seem fearless. “She ruined my life. If I stay away from her, the more I’ll be able to start fresh.” He took a deep breath and leaned back. “So, let’s  _ talk _ . Let’s have a normal conversation. _Пожалуйста_.”

Iryna sighed; she felt for her brother and somewhat understood. He wanted to get out of prison as soon as possible and get back to a normal life. But with an association to a crime like this, he most likely would never be looked at the same way ever again. 

That is, unless he cleared his name.

“I understand,” Iryna began, choosing her words carefully. “But Ivan, don’t you see? Why let her continue to have power over you? If you gave the jury and the judge your story, you could clear your name. You could tell them all that you are _nothing_ like her. You can prove yourself to them. And _that_, Ivan, will make your life easier instead of hiding.” 

Ivan stared at her in skepticism. Soon, he chuckled. “You’re manipulating me to get what you want,” he said, leaning forward again, proudly pointing at her. “You  _ are _ like us after all. Did you think I wouldn’t catch on?” 

“I’m just asking you to do what’s  _ right _ ,” Iryna corrected. “You and I both know that Natalya should be locked up forever. She’s beyond help now. Besides, do you  _ really  _ want  _ your  _ reputation tarnished by the outcome of  _ her  _ trial?” She paused. “I understand that you knew a trial on your part would have most likely added more years to your sentence. But you got a good deal and you most likely will get out before your sentence is up; what else do you have to lose?” 

Ivan chuckled, looking away. “I suppose you have a point, dear sister,” He crossed his arms against his chest and tilted his head. “Alright, I’ll bite. So, tell me. How do I get involved in the case then? Hm? It’s not like I can just waltz out of this place and talk to a lawyer.” 

Quickly, Iryna grabbed his hand, placed the business card in his palm and held on for a moment. “You call this number,” she whispered. 

Ivan raised his eyebrows. “And if I don’t?” 

“Then people will believe  _ you  _ were the  _ true  _ Puppeteer while Natalya lives a free woman.” 

“No touching!!” a guard shouted. 

Ivan quickly pulled his hand away, the business card still in hand, and leaned back. His smirk hadn’t disappeared as he glanced at the card. “You make a good argument, dear sister,” he stated. Taking a deep breath, he drew his attention back to his sister with crossed arms and a glower. “Now. Since that nonsense is settled, could we  _ please _ have a discussion like normal people?” 

Iryna took a deep breath and reluctantly nodded. She supposed it was fair that she spent time with her brother, even though all she wanted to do was leave and go home to rest. But if she fled now, Ivan most likely would discard the business card and forget any of this ever happened. If Ivan was to cooperate, she understood that she had to give what he wanted, which was to be his beloved sister who loved him unconditionally. 

She knew Eduard would be waiting for a longer amount of time if they sat and talked some more, but he was a patient man. He wouldn’t be angry. 

“Okay,” she said, smiling. “What would you like to talk about?” 

Ivan smiled happily, and it seemed that all of his frustrations from the conversation prior had vanished. “Tell me about your life in Ukraine.” 

Emerging from the prison, Iryna found Eduard sitting on the ledge that protected the landscape, looking at his phone. The sun had finally come out from the morning clouds, and Iryna was grateful to feel the sun’s warmth washing over her face. Gently, she tapped Eduard’s shoulder and sat next to him. 

“I’m sorry for the wait,” she apologized. 

“No need,” Eduard said, putting his phone back in his pocket. “I’m guessing the two of you were finally properly catching up.” 

“Yes,” Iryna took a deep breath of fresh air and smiled. “And I gave him the business card.” 

Eduard nodded. “You think he’ll take the bait?” 

Iryna sighed, shrugging. “I think so. He will probably sit on it, ponder it, and then make the call. Or so I hope.” 

“Then our job here is done. We’ll trust that he’ll do his part.” Eduard stood up and put his hands in his pockets. He turned to her and smiled. “Wanna grab some lunch?” he asked, slowly walking towards his car.

Iryna hopped up and followed close to him. “Of course!” 

Wrapped up tight in their bed sheets and blanket, Feliks and Tolys routinely woke up curled up around each other. They still had to get used to the new smell of a new bedroom, the smell of a new apartment, the smell of a new life. Even though they had moved out weeks ago, much before the trial, it was still strange to wake up in a place that felt like a temporary home. 

Feliks often fell asleep on his left side, out of habit from when his wound was still healing, with Tolys’ arm wrapped around him. Normally, Tolys would wake up first, kiss Feliks’ cheek and hurry to make breakfast. Sometimes, he stayed in bed just a little longer, just to be next to Feliks. Other times, they’d make love as gently as they could. 

“It’s not your fault,” Feliks mumbled, his voice groggy from sleep. He was referring to the scar that was on his abdomen, to which Tolys put his hand over constantly, silently apologizing that Feliks had to carry such a thing for the rest of his life. Rolling onto his back, Feliks looked to Tolys and smiled, gently touching his cheek. “How many times do I have to tell you that?” 

“I know, but--” Tolys replied. 

“It’s not your fault,” Feliks repeated. He pulled Tolys’ hand away from his scar and kissed it. “Wanna skip the trial today and stay in bed?” 

Tolys laughed and pulled Feliks close, kissing his cheek. “You know we can’t do that,” he said, brushing Feliks’ hair behind his ear before kissing him again. “As much as I’d rather stay here.” 

Feliks grinned and stretched his legs a bit. “I thought I’d try!” He squished Tolys’ cheeks and kissed him before sitting up. Rubbing his eyes, he yawned and held his hands above his head, stretching. 

Both he and Tolys climbed out of bed at the same time, making their way to the bathroom. While Feliks took a quick shower, Tolys brushed his teeth and soon got dressed. He made his way to the kitchen as Feliks finished getting ready to fix them a small breakfast. By the time Feliks had entered the kitchen, Tolys had finished making some eggs and toast and was placing it on the table. 

“What kind of crap do you think we’ll deal with today?” Feliks asked, sitting down. 

Tolys sat down and started to eat his breakfast. “Who knows,” he said. “I just hope this all is coming to an end soon.” Everyone was quite tired of going to the courthouse and hearing the lawyers’ voices ask repeated questions over and over again. The trial wasn’t completely going horribly, but it was going well either. The prosecutor was doing a fair enough job at presenting the evidence; most of his witnesses came through by saying that Natalya was clearly disturbed and had done the murders. There had even been some DNA evidence left on some of the victims. 

But some of that DNA had been Ivan’s in addition to Natalya’s, giving the defense extra fodder to put the blame on Ivan. 

The real question of the whole trial was: should Natalya Arlovskaya go to jail or an institution that would “help her?” 

“Oh, before I forget,” Feliks pulled a couple of pills out from his pocket and slid them over to Tolys. “I didn’t want you to forget to take your medicine.” 

Tolys picked up the pills and quickly swallowed them down with a sip of hot coffee. He grimaced, as the coffee burned his tongue. “Thank you,” he said. 

“No problem,” Feliks replied, right before biting into his toast. “Hey, different topic, so we can get our mind off of things: d’you think Eduard and Iryna are like... _ interested _ in each other?” 

“What?” Tolys tried to think; he had always been oblivious to people’s closeness or relationships. 

“I just get these... _ vibes _ from them. Like, before the trial happened, they kinda had some chemistry? And the longer Iryna stays here in Poland, they seem to get closer and closer,” He paused. “Am I crazy, or do you get what I’m talking about?” 

“I don’t think I’ve ever really thought about it?” 

“Really?! I saw it immediately! Once I got to know Iryna properly after I recovered, and I saw the way she looks at Eduard and how he looks at her? They’re totally, like, a perfect match, don’t you think?” Feliks grinned. He seemed to be excited over a budding relationship between two friends. “How much do you want to bet that they go on one date before Iryna returns to Ukraine?” 

“Is she going really to return to Ukraine after the trial? That’s a shame; I’ve really come to like her. But, I understand if she doesn’t want to stay. Her whole life is in Ukraine, not here.” Tolys said.

He and Feliks both appreciated Iryna’s presence; if it hadn’t been for her, they would have most likely died that night. He didn’t want her to go either, but would respect her choice at the end of the day. “If she decides to go home to Ukraine, you and I have to be sure we have a get-together with her of some kind.” Tolys added. 

“Ooh, a party? Like, ‘we appreciate you so much, please don’t leave’ party?” Feliks said, grinning. “I’m the best party planner there is; leave it to me!” 

Tolys laughed. “Remember, this is all hypothetical, though. So don’t say anything to Iryna.” 

Feliks ran his fingers over his mouth as if he were zipping them up, and threw an imaginary zipper over his shoulder. He then gave a thumbs up and smiled. The two of them quietly finished up their breakfast before washing the dishes that had been used and making their way out of the door. 

“Calling the court to order!” 

Judge Zajac’s voice boomed in the crowded courtroom and quickly, the room went silent after the judge banged the gavel. She looked to the prosecutor and took a deep breath. Everyone was tired after days of evidence being presented; she was ready for the trial to be over just like everyone else. “Do you have any more evidence to present?” 

The prosecutor raised his hand. “I do, Your Honor,” he answered. “I would like to call one more witness.” 

“I thought you had called all of your witnesses?” she replied.

“I am aware, Your Honor,” the prosecutor said. “But, I have been given more information that may be vital to this case.” 

Sitting together, both Iryna and Eduard exchanged glances.  _ Did Ivan take the bait? _ Eduard thought to himself, leaning forward in his seat. Both he and Iryna thought that maybe Ivan wasn’t going to pull through in his deal; the trial was almost to an end and  _ nothing _ had been mentioned about him testifying. 

“Your Honor,” the defense lawyer called out. “This has not been discussed with me. I believe this is unfair; I should--” 

“Your Honor, may we approach the bench?” the prosecutor asked. 

“Yes, you may approach.” 

As the lawyers approached the bench, the courtroom was incredibly quiet. Everyone, including the jury, was on the edge of their seats, waiting for what was to come. Soon, the two lawyers went back to their seats, with the prosecutor still standing on his feet. 

“Thank you, Your Honor,” he stated. There was pride in his voice. “I would like to call Ivan Braginsky to the stand.” 

Eduard swallowed his excitement but couldn’t help but smile.  _ He took the bait. I can’t believe it, he  _ actually  _ took the bait!! _ Murmurs rumbled through the courtroom after Ivan’s name was announced. Tolys and Feliks looked to each other just as dumbfounded as everyone else. It was certainly a shock to everyone that even Natalya’s accomplice was willing to testify  _ against  _ her.

The murmurs came to a halt as soon as the doors swung open and two guards escorted Ivan towards the front of the room. Eduard made sure to watch Natalya’s reaction as her beloved older brother was brought forward. She scowled and Eduard could tell that she was grinding her teeth in anger; he even swore that he could  _ hear _ her grinding her teeth. 

“Mr. Braginsky,” Judge Zajac said. “I find it surprising that you want to testify against your sister when you didn’t even want to testify at your  _ own _ trial.” 

“Your Honor, it is because I, unlike other people, am mature enough to admit my own shortcomings and not put the blame on others,” Ivan answered. “I’ve come to clear my name, Your Honor, and to clear up any confusion in this case.” 

“I see,” The judge looked down at her papers and marked something down. “Well then, let’s get you sworn in and hear your testimony.” 

In a matter of minutes, Ivan was taken out of his handcuffs, sworn in and took his seat at the witness stand. As per usual, he had a smile on his face to make himself seem less terrifying. The prosecutor stepped around the table and with his hands behind his back, he stood in front of the stand. 

“Do you mind stating your name for us?” he asked. 

“Ivan Braginsky,” Ivan said. 

“And your relation to the defendant?” 

“I’m her older brother,” 

“Now, we are all under the understanding that you and your two sisters were separated after your parents were killed. Is that true?” 

Ivan nodded. “Yes,” 

“And you were adopted by a family and moved here to Poland, correct?” 

“Yes,” 

“And when it comes to your younger sister, the defendant, you only had reunited with her just three years ago?” 

“Correct,” 

“What was she like when you met her for the first time?” 

Ivan hesitated, shifting in his seat uncomfortably. “Surprisingly distant,” he said. “Or maybe not so surprisingly once I got to know her. Of course, we were both happy to be reunited. Families should never be separated. But I quickly realized that Natalya was...how do I word this politely,  _ different _ .” 

“How do you mean?” 

“She was strange as a kid, don’t get me wrong, and I certainly remember that. But she hadn’t gotten  _ better _ , as one would think.” 

“You’re speaking of her mental illness and behavior, correct?” 

Ivan nodded. “Yes, exactly.”

“Did you take her to the doctor?” 

“As adults, we’re a little too old to drag each other to the doctor, don’t you think?” Ivan stated. “I insisted that she go, especially since she already worked in the medical field, that she could  _ at least _ talk to a friend.”

“And did she?” 

“As far as I know, no, she did not.” 

The prosecutor nodded. “There’s really no way around this, so I will ask you directly: when did Natalya start her murders?” 

“...A few months after she moved to Warsaw, I believe.” Ivan answered. 

“And were you involved?” 

Ivan hesitated. “Yes, but only because she called me after it happened.”

“Was she frantic?” 

“No, not at all. She was actually very calm. She just...how did she put it? She didn’t ‘know what to do about the mess’ I think was her phrasing.” 

The prosecutor, as well as everyone else in the courtroom, grimaced.  _ Definitely not a good look, Natalya _ , Eduard thought to himself. He was thankful that Ivan’s testimony was already starting to unravel the defense’s case. Hopefully, he would continue to be successful.

“So, you went over to help her...clean it up?” the prosecutor asked. 

“Yes. All she said to me on the phone was ‘I don’t know what to do with this mess,’ and hung up. So naturally, I thought she just...accidentally broke something at her apartment. When I went there and saw a dead man in her bed, I was...well, quite shocked.” 

“Can you describe the scene for us? What  _ exactly _ did you see that day?”

Ivan took a deep breath and nodded. “Like I said, the man was laying in the bed, face up, with his throat slashed. She had cut it so deep that he was nearly decapitated. Blood drenched the bed sheets, it went through the mattress,” He paused. “It was...quite grotesque. I remember running out of the room to the bathroom because I needed to throw up.” 

“And again, how was Natalya at that point?” 

“Calm. Very calm. After my stomach settled, she asked me if I thought it was a beautiful sight to behold. She wanted to look at it more, and so I...gave her space while I...thought of what to do.” 

“What was done with that victim?” 

“We buried him. I told her it was the proper thing to do. And so we buried him in the yard of the house I lived at the time. I thought it was an accident. Perhaps it was all just a sexual fantasy gone horribly wrong. But a few weeks later, it happened again. And then again. She claimed that she didn’t mean to, but I knew she was lying. I knew what she was doing.” 

“When did she start wanting to hang up her victims as puppets?” 

Ivan thought for a moment. “By the fourth or fifth victim? She told me about the details of how she was finding these men to kill. She said she’d go on hookup apps, meet with these men once or twice, and once she was bored of them, said it was time for them to die. She informed me that these men, even only knowing her for a minimal amount of time, would do anything for her. All of them were pleasers, which meant that she could control them,” 

The prosecutor nodded. “Like puppets?” 

“Yes,” Ivan said, smiling. “Exactly.” 

Putting his hands behind his back, the prosecutor began to pace slowly around. “So, tell me, Ivan, how does Tolys fit into this picture?”

“I was a client of his,” Ivan answered, leaning forward. “He helped me manage my finances. He’s very good at his work. A smart man.” 

“He worked for you. Is that how he and your sister met?” 

Ivan shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Yes,” he mumbled. “I could tell that Tolys had a crush on her.” 

“Did Tolys ask your sister out on a date?” 

“Sort of,” Ivan hesitated, looking away. “Tolys is a good man. I thought he might be able to help Natalya a bit.” 

“ _ Help _ her? How would he  _ help  _ her, Mr. Braginsky?” 

“Help her become normal. Make her stop doing...what she was doing.” 

“How would Tolys be able to help her stop from being a serial killer?” 

“Love,” Ivan muttered. “She just needed to find a man who loved her and she loved back.” 

The prosecutor froze in his tracks. “And you thought...Tolys could be that man?” 

Ivan cleared his throat. “Yes, he has a big heart. I know...Natalya clung to me because I was family. After all that she had been through with the death of our parents, being taken away from Iryna and I, and being raised by two people who were ill-fitting parents...she secretly yearns for something.” 

“Could that yearning be...killing people?” 

“Possibly,” Ivan took a deep breath. “But given that I saw sides of her that no one else saw, she wanted attention. She craved love, though I don’t think she realizes that’s what she wants. She was already unwanted from the moment she was born. Her being born put so much more strain on our family, you know. We did not have much. When our parents died, she was then put with a couple who did not know how to even love each other. I could not give her what she wanted, though she wanted me to. And I do believe Tolys  _ did _ help. For about 6 months.” 

“But why would you let a friend you deeply care about date your sister who had...a horrible track record with her boyfriends?” 

Ivan thought for a moment. “I suppose there’s no good answer for that,” he started. “I think, in the long run, I knew I wouldn’t let her do anything to hurt him. Perhaps I should have suggested that  _ she _ break it off with Tolys and leave it at that. But then again, she’d try something to hurt him.” 

“I’m confused, and frankly, I think everyone here is a little confused. Could please clarify something for us: did Tolys mean a lot to you?” 

“Of course, he’s my friend,” Ivan said in a cheery tone. “Tolys is really the only person I’ve ever considered a...friend.” 

Eduard shuddered and grimaced at Ivan’s last statement; there was something about it that didn’t seem to sit right with him. As he looked around the courtroom, Eduard could see that he wasn’t the only one who felt that way, including Tolys himself. Tolys frowned and shook his head vigorously. 

“I’m  _ not _ your friend,” Tolys said under his breath.

“And why is that, Ivan? Why is Tolys the only person you’ve ever considered to be a friend?” the prosecutor pressed on. 

“I never really had friends growing up. I was picked on a lot as a kid, and no one ever showed me kindness,” Ivan explained casually. “Tolys was the first person who ever was truly nice to me. And I appreciated that greatly.” 

“I see,” The prosecutor stopped pacing and stood directly in front of Ivan. “So, you put your sister and your friend together. Then what? You say that your sister loved him for about 6 months. What happened after?” 

“She grew bored of him,” Ivan answered. “And wished to kill him, just like she had with all the other men she...slept with.” 

“And so you did what you could to prevent that, is that what I’m to understand here?” 

“Yes.” 

The prosecutor nodded and turned away from Ivan. Eduard could tell that he was feeling a little frustrated, because even Ivan’s case was confusing. Nothing made sense. Ivan’s motives didn’t make sense. How was he to spin this and make it obvious that Natalya was the real Puppeteer? 

“Would you say...this is when your relationship with your sister became strained? You opposed her, and I can imagine that she wouldn’t like that.” the prosecutor then asked. 

Ivan swallowed, thinking carefully of his response. “I did what I could to protect Tolys. So yes, there were times Natalya and I fought. Argued.” 

“And was this when she would go and...pursue other men just to kill them?” 

"Yes,"

“Did you ever help her find her victims?”

“Before she met Tolys, yes. She asked me to because it would give her more...clientele, I believe is the word she used. She was also looking for victims simultaneously.” 

“Can you explain what that involved?” 

“Creating other profiles on other dating platforms and sending the information to her, basically. But like I said, when she started dating Tolys, I stopped despite her wanting me to continue.” 

“So, you were trying to distance yourself as much as you could from your sister?” 

“Yes,” Ivan said. “As much as was possible. Our lives were very intertwined, though. But I put up boundaries as best as I could.” 

“Well then,” The prosecutor took a deep breath and sighed. “Would you please explain to us what happened on the night you and your sister wound up arrested?” 

Ivan nodded. “That was the day Iryna came to my shop and we reunited. It was also the day Tolys broke up with Natalya. Natalya was delighted that Tolys broke up with her, because she felt that it was finally time for her to kill Tolys. From what I understand, she snuck into their house in the evening, knocked them out, stuffed them into the trunk of her car and brought them to the basement of the bar.”

“Why did she bring them there?” 

“No idea. I suppose there was more room to do the deed. The basement has a tile floor, so it would also be an easy clean up. She eventually called me and asked me to come to the bar. I saw what was about to occur, and I tried to think of ways to...stop her. So I went to find Iryna.” 

“Why not the police?” 

“I--it felt like the right option at the time. It’s very hard to think clearly when you’re trying to stop a murderer.” 

The prosecutor sighed. “What happened then?” 

“I brought Iryna to the scene. We argued with Natalya, trying to convince her to stop what she was doing. Of course, she wasn’t listening. We fought...somehow Tolys and Feliks got out of their bindings and were going to make a run for it. But Tolys tripped, and Natalya was going to take advantage of the time to kill him. But Feliks pushed him out of the way and took the brunt of the blade for him.” Ivan continued. 

“Did Natalya ever hurt  _ you _ , Ivan?” 

“Yes,” Ivan pointed to the scar that began at his neck and made its way towards his ear. “She attempted to kill me, see? She was fed up with me and wanted to get rid of me. She would have killed Iryna too if I hadn’t put a stop to it and let Iryna run out.” 

“So, no matter how hard you tried to... _ help _ your sister, she simply refused and did as she pleased? Because  _ she _ was truly the one in control?” 

Ivan nodded. “Yes.” 

The prosecutor turned to the defense lawyer and nodded. “Your witness.” 

The defense lawyer stood up and took a deep breath as he walked around the table. He put on his best smile and folded his hands behind his back.  “I’m surprised my colleague failed to ask you other imperative details. So, can you tell me how Feliks Łukasiewicz got involved?” 

Ivan frowned; he  _ hated _ talking about Feliks. “I suppose we can talk about that...fool. Yes, so, I was looking to start another business. My gardening shop was very successful, and I wanted to dip my toes into something new. I heard that the bar Feliks owned was going underwater fast, and I thought I would buy it from him. Fix it up and make it more successful than ever.” 

“Can you explain to us how Feliks--”

“Feliks is as stubborn as a mule. He wouldn’t sell the bar to me. Wouldn’t even consider it. Not to mention, Tolys had taken him on as a client, meaning that he would look over his finances. Feliks was homeless, and Tolys being the kind man that he is, opened his house to him.” Ivan interrupted. He was beginning to ramble, and it was clear that talking about Feliks  _ irritated _ him. 

“And would you say this where things--”

“Things got out of hand once Feliks was involved. Feliks unraveled the routine and the relationships we all had together. Tolys was soon spending less and less time around us and spending time with Feliks. I didn’t appreciate that.” 

“Were you jealous of Feliks?” 

Ivan was silent for a minute. “No.” 

“You  _ weren’t _ jealous of Feliks?” 

“What would I be jealous of? His financial situation? His homelessness? There is nothing to be jealous of.” 

“His closeness to Tolys is something you might be jealous of.” 

“I was  _ frustrated _ with the fact that Feliks seemed to have gotten more involved in our lives than I initially wanted. I wanted to buy the bar and be done with it. But he made the buying process very difficult.” 

The defense lawyer chuckled. “Let’s backtrack,” he said. “Tolys was a friend that meant a lot to you, correct?” 

“Yes.” Ivan answered. 

“Your  _ only _ friend?” 

“Not my only friend, but--”

“You said that Tolys was the first person you ever met who was genuinely kind to you?” 

“Correct--”

“So when Tolys’ kindness moved from you to Feliks, did that anger you at all?” 

Ivan hesitated for a moment. “No.” 

Eduard took a deep breath. He knew Ivan was lying, and he knew what direction the defense lawyer was going to take. This lawyer liked to play dirty. He was planning on “outing” Ivan just like he had with Feliks, which would give Ivan “incentive” to be a serial killer and Natalya a free woman. Granted, Eduard didn’t know for sure if Ivan  _ was _ gay and secretly in love with Tolys. The chance of Ivan even  _ confessing _ it was slim. 

“It didn’t anger you?” the defense lawyer pressed on. 

“It didn’t,” Ivan repeated. “Sure, I wish we could have spent as much time as we used to, but I wasn’t angry.” 

“Then why did you leave numerous voice and text messages on Tolys’ phone while he and Feliks were in London?” 

The room fell silent as Ivan thought out his response carefully. “They left suddenly, and Natalya was...having an episode. I don’t know how else to describe it. She was so angry, because I think it was when she realized that...he was no longer her puppet. And I just wanted everything to go back to normal, so I was trying to contact Tolys to come home.” 

“Do we have a transcript of those messages, Your Honor?” the defense lawyer requested.

“Maybe I said some unkind words to Tolys,” Ivan blurted. “But I assure you, there was no malicious intent behind my words.” 

The defense lawyer chuckled. “So would you then say you were angry that Tolys’ attention was elsewhere?” 

Ivan took a deep breath and scowled. “Yes,” He paused. “I was frustrated that Tolys seemed to be giving up on everything the three of us had worked on together.” 

“What do you mean by that?” 

“Our routines. We had become a family, in a sense, I didn’t like that he seemed to be giving that up.”

“But wouldn’t you be happy for your friend that he was escaping the atrocities that you described earlier?” 

Ivan swallowed and looked away from the lawyer. “Our relationship with Tolys was a complicated one. Our lives were very much intertwined with each other; I considered Tolys as family. And when he stopped prioritizing family, that’s when I was bothered with his choices.” He paused and made eye contact with the lawyer. “Does that make everything clear for you?” 

“In his testimony and in his confession to the police, Tolys admitted that he, at times, felt that you were infatuated with him,” the defense lawyer mentioned. Ivan’s eyes flickered over to Tolys for a second before he looked back down to the floor. “Could you confirm for us if that is true or not?” 

“It is not true,” Ivan said, quickly. 

“It’s not true, is that what you are saying?” 

“Yes,” Ivan looked over to Eduard and scowled. Eduard gulped; he remembered the conversation he had with Ivan long ago, before he and Raivis travelled to Ukraine to bring Iryna to him. Ivan was putting the blame on the  _ ridiculous  _ idea that he was secretly in love with Tolys on Eduard. 

“I have no idea why he might think such a thing,” Ivan added. 

“Because he believed that you felt like you had authority over him.” the defense lawyer said. 

“But have I ever made any advances towards him? Did I ever force him to do  _ anything _ against his will?” Ivan asked, leaning forward. “Did I ever force myself upon him? Did he ever make  _ those _ claims?” 

“Please leave the questioning to the lawyer, Mr. Braginsky,” Judge Zajac requested. 

“I’m just trying to further understand what the defense is accusing me of, Your Honor. Tolys and I were close friends, and I’m unsure why our friendship is being perverted.” Ivan said. There was anger in his voice as he gave a pointed glare at the defense lawyer. 

“I am just reiterating the information that Mr. Laurinaitis provided,” the defense lawyer stated. “Would you like me to ask him again for clarification, Ivan?” 

The lawyer turned his back to the witness and scanned the room to find Tolys. The jury and the audience did the same, making Tolys’ anxiety rise. He slouched in his seat, attempting to hide so no one could find him. 

“Mr. Laurinaitis?” the defense lawyer called out. “Could you please clarify for Mr. Braginsky here what you said? Did you or did you not say that you felt that Ivan was infatuated with you?” 

“Your Honor!” the prosecutor objected. “Surely, you cannot allow him to do this!” 

The judge thought for a moment before she spoke. “Mr. Braginsky has not been in attendance of this trial until today. I believe it would be best to make his testimony as clear as possible as the others who have testified.” 

_ You’ve got to be joking _ . Eduard thought to himself, looking over to his anxious friend. Feliks and Tolys were holding hands, low enough so that no one else could see, and Eduard could tell that Tolys was squeezing Feliks’ hand tightly. It looked somewhat painful, but Feliks didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he leaned closer to him and was whispering comforting words in his ear. 

The defense lawyer was about to ask the question again to Tolys, but the judge stopped him. “Allow me to ask him,” Judge Zajac said. “Mr. Laurinaitis, would please stand up for us?” 

Quickly, Tolys obliged and rose to his feet. He stood with his fist clenched at his sides and his shoulders so tense, they were nearly up to his ears. “Y-yes, Your Honor?” 

“Would you mind answering a simple question just for the clarity of Mr. Braginsky’s case?” 

“Yes, Your H-honor.” 

“Did you ever feel that Mr. Braginsky was infatuated with you?” 

The judge’s words seemed to echo in Tolys’ mind as he tried to think clearly. He wasn’t expecting to have to answer any more questions when it came to the trial, and he most certainly wasn’t expecting Ivan to be sitting on the witness stand, staring at him. Waiting for him to give an answer that he  _ wanted _ . 

“Mr. Laurinaitis?” 

Tolys felt intimidated by Ivan’s cold, stern glare. He knew Ivan was silently telling him to  _ lie  _ so that he would continue hiding in whatever he was hiding. But Tolys felt that he  _ couldn’t _ lie, because it could cause trouble down the road. 

Right?

Then again, Tolys wasn’t currently on the stand right now. He hadn’t taken an oath, so technically, he  _ could _ bend the truth just a little.

Right?

“Mr. Laurinaitis?!” Judge Zajac shouted. 

Tolys jumped at the sound of her voice and snapped out of his thoughts. “I-I’m sorry, could you repeat the question?” 

“Can you confirm that you felt that Mr. Braginsky was infatuated with you?” 

Tolys swallowed and glanced down to Feliks. Feliks was looking straight ahead and took a deep breath.  _ Tell the truth _ , Feliks had told him before he stood up.  _ But don’t out him. That lawyer outed me to the whole world when he didn’t need to, and he’s gonna do it to Ivan too. I hate the guy, but I wouldn’t wish that pain on him. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. Not in a million years _ . 

“I did say that, yes,” Tolys said. “But, maybe I mistook his intimidation tactics for infatuation. I’ve...never been sure if I was right in saying what I said.” 

Judge Zajac looked at Tolys with skepticism. “So you confirm that is what you said, but you are not sure how true your words are?” 

“Yes,” Tolys nodded. “A-as Ivan said himself, he never made advances to me. He never asked for me to...do any acts upon him against my will. We... _ were _ friends. And though I felt at times he...felt differently, words nor actions were never done that confirmed my thoughts.” 

“You mean that Mr. Braginsky’s obsession over you made you  _ think _ he was infatuated with you?” Judge Zajac asked. 

“Yes,” Tolys answered. Was it a lie? Technically, because Tolys knew that deep down, Ivan  _ was _ in love with him. But if Ivan wasn’t going to be honest about it, then Tolys would go along with the image Ivan wanted. It would definitely save Tolys’ skin once Ivan got out of jail.

This would be the last time he did Ivan any favors. 

Judge Zajac nodded and marked something down in her notes. “Thank you, Mr. Laurinaitis. You may be seated.” 

With a heavy exhale, Tolys sat back down in his seat, sinking so that people would stop staring at him. He took back Feliks’ hand for comfort and glanced at him. 

Feliks smiled and leaned in close. “You did good,’ he whispered in Tolys’ ear. “Hopefully, that makes it tricky for the defense to shift the blame from Natalya to Ivan. It takes away any motive for Ivan to be the killer and proves him to be an accomplice.” 

The defense lawyer sighed; it was visible that he was defeated. His tactics and control over the case were slipping through his fingers. Instead of continuing to badger Ivan, he turned to the prosecutor and nodded. “Your witness,” he said. 

The prosecutor stood up as the other sat down, and began to pace. “I just want to make something very clear for everyone, Ivan: did you ever  _ kill _ any of the victims of the Puppeteer?” 

“No, sir,” Ivan answered. 

“Your only role, to your sister, was to clean up the ‘mess’ that she made?” 

“That is correct, sir,” 

“The victims that were killed, resemble some of Tolys’ features. Is that correct?” 

“Yes,” 

“Is that because your sister yearned to kill her longtime boyfriend, but couldn’t because you were friends with him? Resulting in her finding men who looked similar to Tolys?” 

“Yes,” 

The prosecutor smiled. “No further questions.” 

As the prosecutor sat back down, the defense lawyer looked gutted. Judge Zajac stared at him. 

“Does the defense have any further questions?” she asked. 

“N-no, Your Honor.” the defense lawyer answered. 

Throughout the session of the trial, Natalya had not said one word, not even made a peep. But the second her lawyer said that he had no more questions, she turned to him, with her left hand resting on the table and glared. 

“What do you  _ mean _ , no further questions?” she hissed. 

“I-I have no more questions for him,” her lawyer replied in a low voice. “He’s proved--”

“He’s proved  _ nothing _ ,” Natalya said, raising her voice. She began digging her nails into the wooden table, dragging them so it made an irritating noise. 

“Would you please control your client?” Judge Zajac ordered. 

“I’m trying, Your Honor!” The defense lawyer turned back to Natalya. “Please, let the evidence stand and the jury will decide. You still have a chance.” 

Natalya stood up, causing the audience to gasp as she pointed at her brother on the stand. “He’s lying, you know!!” she shouted at the judge. “He’s lying! I  _ know _ he is!” 

The judge raised an eyebrow. “Is that so?” 

“Yes!” Natalya glared at Ivan. “I  _ know _ how much you wanted Tolys to suck your--”

“Language,” the judge cut her off. 

“And I know for a  _ fact _ that you enjoyed that I was killing those men!! You can betray me all you want, Vanya, but I know the  _ truth _ !” Natalya finished. 

“Would you like to take the stand and give a testimony to prove your innocence, Ms. Arlovskaya?” Judge Zajac asked. 

Natalya froze, and for the first time ever in his life, Tolys saw fear in her face. She  _ knew _ she couldn’t testify  _ and  _ be a “free woman.” She  _ knew  _ she was guilty. And the words that she had just said,  _ proved _ that she was guilty. Glancing at the prosecutor, Natalya slowly sat back down in her seat and collected herself. 

“No,” she said, as calmly as she could. “I do not want to testify, Your Honor.” 

“If you know the truth and can prove that your brother is lying, why wouldn’t you take the opportunity?” the judge further inquired. 

Natalya looked down at her hands. “I just don’t feel like it.” 

The judge nodded and folded her hands in front of her. “If that is the case,” she said, turning to the jury. “I will have to ask you, jury members, to forget everything that you have just heard,”

“WHAT?!” Natalya shouted. 

“Because it was not a part of an official testimony. Therefore, it shall not be part of your consideration of the defendant’s verdict,” The judge looked to Ivan. “If there are no further questions, then you are dismissed, Mr. Braginsky. We appreciate your cooperation.” 

“Your Honor,” Ivan said. “I was actually wondering if--” 

“You are dismissed, Mr. Braginsky,” The judge repeated, as if she already knew what he was going to ask. The guards helped Ivan up to his feet before he could protest again and led him out of the courtroom. “If there is no more evidence to present, then I believe it is time for closing statements so our jury can come to a verdict. Let us start with the prosecution.” 

The lawyers then gave their closing statements, both giving their final pleas to the jury to side with them. The prosecution’s case was much more clear than the defense’s, but that did not necessarily mean anything. The case could still go either way, especially if the jury wasn’t convinced that Ivan was  _ just _ an accomplice. Once the defense lawyer finished giving his final statement, the judge glanced at her notes and addressed the audience: 

“The jury needs time to come to a verdict. This trial is adjourned until they reach that verdict.” 

With the strike of the gavel, everyone in the courtroom stood up and began to make their way to the exit. Tolys looked to Feliks, who sighed and said:

“Now, we wait.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! I hope everyone is doing well in quarantine. It truly feels never-ending, doesn't it? I've spent a lot of my time watching some documentaries, keeping up with the new season of Drag Race and watching my cat sleep (because she is so CUTE). Have any of you done anything new? Taken up new hobbies? Watched different TV shows/Movies/Documentaries? Read books? Impulsed shopped? 
> 
> I know you guys have said that you enjoy the longer chapters, but I wanted to explain some stuff in this chapter. There were a couple of things I was trying to focus on in this specific chapter, and things that will perhaps be continued in the next. 
> 
> A.) Iryna's complicated relationship with her siblings. Iryna definitely has always come across as a character to me who would love her family to death, but also feel that they are also not good people (especially in this fic and in this interpretation of Ivan and Natalya). Iryna is definitely a "goodie-two-shoes," if you will. So in this chapter, I wanted to convey that she clearly still loves her brother, but is wary of him (which is why she no longer calls him by his nickname/diminutive). Hopefully, I was somewhat successful. 
> 
> B.) A glimpse of Tolys' and Feliks' recovery journey. After all of the trauma they have dealt with in previous chapters, I felt that it was important to show how they were recovering, particularly as a couple. That section may feel like it does not contribute much, but I felt that it was important to show. I also wanted to show the still remaining factors of the abuse Tolys dealt with while dating Natalya and being "friends" with Ivan. He's doing better and he's handling it better, but the fear is still present. 
> 
> C.) Complicated Ivan. Throughout the whole story, I think Ivan has had good intentions (sorta), but is just terrible at executing them. He wanted to start a new business, but instead of doing it the calm and patient way, he attempted to bully his way around to get what he wanted. He wanted to protect and help Natalya, but ended up covering up her crimes and being an accomplice. He put everyone in danger, whether or not he meant it. Ivan also comes across as a character who just holds on to secrets. Instead of being 100% honest, Ivan would rather keep certain things about himself hidden from the world. Did he secretly enjoy his sister killing men? Was/Is he secretly in love with Tolys? The world may never know. 
> 
> These were the three things I was trying to address and do in this chapter; I hope it all makes sense and is somewhat successful. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Please let me know what you think! Comments and critiques are very much welcome! 
> 
> -Katelyn


	23. The Verdict

As the jury was dismissed to meet and come to a verdict, Natalya was escorted to a holding room. There were two cells, sitting across from each other. While the guards led Natalya to her cell, another set of guards were closing the opposite cell where Ivan stood. When they stepped away and he saw his younger sister, he frowned and watched as the guards stepped out the room. 

“Surely there’s another room she can wait in?!” he asked. 

“No,” one of the guards answered, closing the door behind them. 

Natalya’s guards closed the door to her cell and only one of them stayed behind to keep watch. She watched as her brother attempted to find a way to keep his back to his sister, hoping to ignore her. 

Natalya wasn’t going to let that happen. 

“You’ve got some nerve betraying me like that, Vanya,” Natalya said in Russian. 

Ivan did not reply. 

“We were a team, you and I. And you decide to lie and say that it was just  _ me _ who enjoyed it all?” she continued. 

“I  _ didn’t _ enjoy it,” Ivan muttered. 

“ _ Bullshit _ ,” Natalya hissed. “You enjoyed the hunt as much as I did.” 

“I  _ never _ killed anyone,” Ivan said, raising his voice. “I  _ never _ took part in that.  _ You _ did.” 

Natalya laughed and leaned her head up against one of the bars of the cell. “Fine, you can say that all you want. But you  _ did _ enjoy looking at those dating profiles, didn’t you? After all,  _ you _ were the one who got  _ good _ at picking the ones who looked like Tolys for me,” Natalya giggled. Crossing her arms, she smirked. “And I wonder why that might be?” 

“Stop  _ insinuating _ things that aren’t true,” Ivan said. He finally turned around to face his sister. “I know you’re trying to do everything you can to get out  _ your crimes _ . You want  _ me _ to take the blame, and I won’t.” 

Natalya shrugged. “All I want, Vanya, is for you to tell the truth. That’s all.” 

“And I  _ have _ ! I have told the truth!” 

Rolling her eyes, Natalya turned away and began to pace as much as one could in a tiny space. “Since you won’t answer my suggestive questions, then I’ll ask directly, because I’d like to know what’s real to you,” she started. “Did you ever love Tolys?” 

“ _ No _ ,” Ivan replied in a low voice. 

Natalya laughed and shook her head. “You’re a terrible liar, Vanya. Why bother giving him all of the attention? Why bother  _ saving _ him if you didn’t love him? You did  _ all  _ of this for Tolys. Don’t deny it.” 

“I  _ cared _ about him because he is my  _ friend _ ,” Ivan said. 

Natalya laughed again. “And you think after all of this, after all you’ve done, he’s  _ still _ your friend, Vanya?” 

“It will take some time, but yes. We will be friends again.” 

The room fell silent for a few minutes until Natalya groaned. “How long are we going to be in this stinkhole?!” she asked the guard. 

“Until the jury reaches a verdict,” the guard simply answered. 

“Hmph,” Natalya sat down on the bench in the cell. “Well, I suppose it’s good the two of us get to bond before we’re locked away forever, huh, Vanya? I’ll miss you greatly.” 

“I only have a 5 year sentence,” Ivan said. “Including parole. I’ll be out before you know it.” 

Natalya snickered. “What? You  _ really _ think you’re going to get out early?” She laughed. “You really think you’re a  _ good boy _ , don’t you? Truth is, you’re far from it.” 

“Stop it,” Ivan hissed. “In comparison to you, I am good.” 

“Oh Vanya,” Natalya sang. “The only difference between you and me is that I don’t hide who I am,” She giggled. “Do  _ you _ even know who you are?” 

“I am a good friend and a good person.” 

“Are you?” Natalya narrowed her eyes and stood up again. “See, I think you and I are very similar. Because you’re not honest about yourself, that makes you much more  _ deceptive _ ,” She smirked. “I think I’ve trained you well.” 

Ivan glared at his sister. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” 

“Oh, nothing,” Natalya sighed. 

Shaking his head, Ivan groaned. “What happened to you in Belarus that made you like this?” 

“Who says it happened in Belarus?” Natalya replied with a chilling smirk. 

“It’s exhausting to keep up with you,” Ivan said. “And it’s hard to know what is the truth and what is a lie.” 

“Good,” Natalya sighed. “That’s the point.  _ I’m _ always in control. Everyone is a puppet. Including you.” 

Ivan didn’t say anything as he listened to his sister ramble and gloat at how much of a great manipulator she was. He didn’t think she had succeeded in manipulating her trial; after all, the prosecutor did a good enough job at presenting the damning evidence from what he understood. What he hoped he would get out of this was a shorter sentence, or maybe, just maybe, the judge would pardon him. He hoped that he had proved that he was innocent enough that he didn’t deserve to be locked up with a bunch of criminals. 

“...So tell me, Vanya, what  _ made _ you betray me, hm?” Natalya asked. 

“I came to my senses,” Ivan answered. 

Natalya tilted her head and smirked. “You simply came to your senses. Is that it?” She sniffed. “Something tells me a Little-Miss-Goodie-Two-Shoes was also involved.” 

Ivan rolled his eyes. “What do you have against her, huh? Iryna has done nothing but love us as family, no matter what.” 

“I just don’t like her.” 

“Why?!” 

“You always seemed to like her more than me.” 

“What?” 

“Oh don’t play dumb with me, Vanya. When we were kids, you always wanted to play games with Iryna and not me. She always took care of you, read you stories, sang to you, whatever you wanted. She loved you and you loved her back. Both of you  _ hated _ me.” 

“That’s not true at all. She loved you too, Natalya,” Ivan sighed. “She still does, I’m sure of it. Iryna holds no hate in her heart.” 

“That’s not how I remember it.” 

“Memories aren’t always true, Natalya. You were so young at the time; you could be misremembering something,” Ivan added. “Iryna was like a second mother to us, especially during the time before Mama and Papa were murdered. Remember how swamped Mama and Papa were with business? Iryna took care of us.” 

“But she let those two  _ idiots _ take me away from you. She just stood by and watched as I was taken away…”

“We were kids, Natalya! Sure, Iryna was older than us and much smarter than us, but there was only so much she could do!” Ivan took a deep breath and shook his head. “Your feelings are valid, to a point, but cut Iryna some slack. She did her best.” 

Natalya kept quiet for a moment, staring at the door. How long until a verdict was made? “Given how you’re defending her, I take it that she convinced you to betray me.” 

“You’re ridiculous,” 

“Not to mention, you never said that you loved me. All you did was defend Iryna.” 

Ivan groaned. He was quite fed up with his sister’s antics and her lies. “How much longer are we going to have to sit in here?!” he asked the guard. 

“Until the jury reaches a verdict,” the guard answered.

“Yes, and long will that be?” 

“Whenever they reach a verdict.” 

Both Ivan and Natalya groaned. The room fell silent once again, and the two of them felt every second scrape by as they waited to hear the verdict. 

It had been close to an hour since the jury had gone in to deliberate. Tolys’ stomach was in knots since they had left the courtroom. As other audience members discussed amongst themselves the case and what they thought, voices echoing off of the marble tiles, Tolys heard snippets of various conversations. 

“I mean, she’s guilty, but he boyfriend should’ve gotten her more help. She was clearly ill.” 

“Yeah, and then to fall in love with another man? Poor woman; she’s been neglected all her life.”

“I don’t think she did it at all. Her brother was obviously the one doing the killings. She’s taking the fall for him. He’s the real Puppeteer.” 

“Both of them were the Puppeteer. End of story.” 

Tolys tried to pay no attention to other people’s words as he wandered around, but he couldn’t help it. Some were encouraging, but most of their comments made him feel worse. 

There wasn’t much to do around the courthouse except walk around and wait in the cafe that sold mediocre coffee and stale pastries. Kindly volunteering to go grab something better from a bakerie not too far from the courthouse, Eduard had finally returned to the courthouse cafe with four different cups of coffee and treats. “Okay, black coffee for Tolys,” he said, handing the to-go cup to his friend. “One latte for Iryna, and...one coffee and chocolate frappe with extra whip cream for Feliks…” 

“Yes!!” Feliks cheered, happily taking the drink. “I’m so happy these things exist!” 

“Isn’t that a lot of sugar?” Tolys asked. 

“Yeah? Isn’t that the point? Sugar wakes you up!” 

“So does...coffee??” 

Feliks paused for a moment to think. “Oh yeah,” he muttered, sipping his drink. He shrugged and grinned. “It tastes delicious, though. Wanna try it?” 

As Feliks held his drink close to Toyls, Tolys pondered for a minute before taking a generous sip. It was outrageously sweet, but Feliks was right; it  _ was _ delicious. He took a couple of more sips of the drink before Feliks pulled away. 

“Hey!” he said, laughing. “Get your own!” 

“One more sip!” Tolys replied, jokingly. 

Feliks scooped a tiny bit of whipped cream that was poking out of the top of the lid onto his finger and placed it on Tolys’ nose. “No, silly! Get your own!” he teased. He took a sip of his drink and smiled. “We can take turns.” 

Tolys smiled back and took a sip of his regular coffee.  _ How boring _ . He thought to himself. It wasn’t like his coffee was  _ bad _ , but it had no excitement or flavor to it. 

The four of them sat at the table in silence for a bit, enjoying their caffeinated drinks for a bit. Iryna tapped her finger against the lid of her drink, thinking. “How long do you think it will be? Surely, it can’t be much longer.” she said. 

“There was a lot to discuss,” Eduard said. “But, I still think the answer is clear. The defense didn’t present a strong case for Natalya’s ‘insanity’ plea. They heavily relied on the fact that Ivan never testified and were planning to pin the blame on him. But it backfired, thankfully. She  _ should _ be guilty.” 

“How many years do you think she’s gonna get?” Feliks asked, a little too eagerly. He slid his drink over to Tolys so he could take another sip from it. 

“Definitely for life. Maybe she’ll get two life sentences. I dunno. I just know there’s no way she’ll ever see the light of day ever again.” Eduard answered. 

“That’s on the idea that she  _ is _ found guilty,” Tolys said, sighing. He still wasn’t too sure that all the evidence presented was enough. There would always be that “what if” factor, and that factor could be enough to sway the jury to deeming her not guilty. 

“Tolys, there’s no way she’s getting out of this,” Feliks said. 

“Yeah, that’s what we said about Ivan, and he  _ still _ found a way,” Tolys continued. 

“Not without facing the consequences first,” Iryna chimed in. She looked to Tolys and smiled to encourage him. “It will be the same for Natalya. However, she will never get out.” 

Nodding, Tolys sat with Iryna’s words for a moment, trying his best to agree with them. He didn’t quite understand why he was such a skeptic when it came to the trial; it just felt that he had been unlucky all this time, why would he suddenly be lucky now? 

The four of them sat in silence for a while longer until they heard someone running into the cafe, frantic. “They’ve reached a verdict! They’ve reached a verdict!!” 

“Holy shit,” Feliks blurted before quickly standing up. Everyone else at the table (and including everyone else in the small courthouse cafe) made their way back to the courtroom as quickly as they could. They were all eager to hear what conclusion the jury came to. 

As soon as everyone was situated back into their seats, Judge Zajac turned to the jury. “Calling the court to order! Have we reached a verdict?” she asked. 

A young woman stood up and gave a nod. “We have, Your Honor,” 

“And how do you find the defendant?” 

The young woman swallowed and looked down at her paper. Everyone was sitting on the edge of their seat, waiting for the response. “After consideration of the evidence presented by the prosecution and the testimonies of the witnesses, particularly those of Mr. Laurinaitis, Mr. Łukasiewicz and Mr. Braginsky, we find the defendant guilty on all accounts, Your Honor.” 

“Yes!!!” Tolys cheered instinctively. When he realized that he had cheered aloud instead of silently to himself, he sunk into his chair, trying to hide his mild embarrassment. He glanced over at Natalya, who was glaring at him for his exclamation, and smirked. He was thrilled that this would be last time he’d ever have to see her face ever again. 

Feliks patted his knee and grinned. “Told you that there was no way she was going to get out of this,” he whispered. 

“I know, but--” Tolys began. 

“Very well then. Will the defendant please stand up?” Judge Zajac said. The defense lawyer stood up, but Natalya remained seated. Her lawyer looked at her and grabbed her arm, pulling her up out of her seat. “Natalya Arlovskaya, the jury has found you guilty on all accounts. Because of this, I am sentencing you to serve life in prison. Do you understand this?” 

Natalya only glared at the judge. She gave no response. 

“Ms. Arlovskaya, I asked you a question and that requires a response from you. Do you understand the verdict and your sentencing?” 

Once again, Natalya gave no response. 

“Let me make one thing clear, Ms. Arlovskaya. When you sit before a judge, you are to respect the judge and answer questions asked. Do you understand the verdict and your sentencing? Do  _ not _ make me ask again.” 

Natalya sniffed and rolled her eyes. “Yes, I understand the verdict and my sentencing,” The tone of her voice was a sarcastic one, showing Natalya’s indifference to the situation. The defense lawyer nudged Natalya, urging her to show some respect to the judge. She groaned audibly. “Yes, I understand the verdict and my sentencing,  _ Your Honor _ .” 

Judge Zajac nodded. “Good. Guards will be here shortly to escort you,” She paused, scanning the room. “And where is Mr. Braginsky? I would like to have a brief word with him.” 

_She’s not going to do what I _think _she’s going to do,_ Tolys thought to himself. He was fearful that the judge would grant some sort of pardon for Ivan, if that were even possible. Sure, Ivan had done a decent job at testifying and helping keep the case from going in Natalya’s favor, but he certainly did not deserve to be released from prison too soon. 

Everyone in the courtroom was murmuring to each other, wondering what  _ else _ the judge could possibly want. Eventually, Ivan was brought back into the courtroom with, surprisingly to Tolys, a fearful look on his face. Natalya looked to her brother in rage; it was certain she would hold a grudge against him forever. 

“Mr. Braginsky,” the judge said, leaning forward. “I would like to thank you for your cooperation and testimony during this case. I believe you were a great help in the jury’s decision.” 

Ivan smiled. “I wanted to do what was right, Your Honor. Thank you for allowing me to tell my side of the story.” 

Judge Zajac returned the smile. “Again, thank you for your help, Mr. Braginsky. You are dismissed.” 

As the guards tugged to pull Ivan out of the courtroom, Ivan did not budge. He stood still, staring at the judge. “Your Honor, I was hoping that with my honesty and candid testimony, I would receive a revision of my sentence,” he said. 

Judge Zajac raised her eyebrows in shock and stifled a laugh. “Mr. Braginsky, I cannot do such a thing. Changing your sentence would require another trial of your own. And doing that would also require lots of hoops to jump through,” She glanced at the prosecutor who was busy looking down at his shoes. “I’m sorry if you were led to believe that I would hold such power to shorten your sentence.” 

“Your Honor, please,” Ivan pleaded. He took a step forward, pulling the guards along with him. “I’ve admitted my faults and shortcomings; surely that is enough to--”

“I cannot do that, Mr. Braginsky and I do apologize that you were misled,” the judge said. “You are dismissed, Mr. Braginsky.” 

“M-may I speak to my sister? Iryna, I mean. Privately?” Ivan added as the guards began pulling him backwards to the exit. “There’s a matter that I would like to discuss with her.” 

When Tolys looked over at Iryna, she looked panicked. She didn’t know what Ivan could possibly want to talk to her about. Judge Zajac didn’t seem to bat an eye, however. 

“Ms...Chernenko, do you mind speaking with your brother briefly? There will be guards nearby, so you will not be alone.” the judge asked. 

Hesitantly, Iryna stood up and nodded. “Sure,” she said. Her voice wavered as she spoke, giving away her nerves. “I’ll speak with him, Your Honor.” Stepping into the aisle, Iryna followed the guards and her brother out of the courtroom. 

“Can you believe that he  _ seriously _ thought he’d get his sentence shortened?” Feliks whispered to Tolys. “Well, I mean I  _ can _ believe it, but the amount of nerve he has is astounding.” 

Tolys nodded. He knew that Eduard and Iryna were the ones who presented the idea to Ivan about testifying. But in order to get him to be on board with it, the prosecutor must’ve promised that he could get Ivan’s sentence shortened if he testified. The prosecutor knew it was a lie, because it was impossible to change a sentence after it was set. “Ivan thinks he’s untouchable, and does not have to face consequences,” Tolys said. He smiled. “He and Natalya are more similar than he realizes.” 

“Totally,” Feliks agreed. 

Eventually, Iryna returned back to her seat. Once she was settled, Judge Zajac nodded and addressed the audience: “Now that the jury has reached its full verdict, and the defendant has been found guilty, court is adjourned.” 

With the loud smack of the gavel, Natalya’s court case came to an end. 

“Woohoo!!” Feliks cheered as he ran into the empty street. It was late at night and the gang had just finished their celebrations at a local restaurant where huge, expensive meals and several libations were involved. Tolys, Eduard and Iryna slowly stepped out of the restaurant, watching as Feliks was jumping around jubilantly, still cheering from the court’s decision. “God, I haven’t been this happy in a while! I could do 20 cartwheels!” 

“Please don’t!” Tolys said, hollering after him. “You’ve had so much to drink tonight, I’m not sure it’s a good idea if--”

“I’m gonna do it!” Feliks shouted, lifting his hands over his head. 

“Feliks, no! You’re going to hurt yourself!” Toly added, running out into the street, chasing Feliks. 

“I’m gonna do it!!! I gotta get back into practice anyway!” 

Eduard laughed as he watched his friends run around, one trying to stop the other out of concern. All of them felt a thousand times lighter after the court case came to a close. It was tempting to do 20 cartwheels himself, but Eduard knew he had no coordination to do so. 

Feliks flipped forward and completed one cartwheel. “That’s one!” he hollered. “Nineteen more to go!!” 

“So,” Eduard sighed, turning to Iryna. “I suppose this ends your journey here in Warsaw.” 

Iryna sighed as well. “Technically speaking,” she replied. “But, maybe it doesn’t have to be,” She paused. “Ivan asked me to look after his shop.” 

“What?” Eduard asked, stunned. “Is  _ that _ what he wanted to talk to you about?” 

“Mmhm,” Iryna replied. “He thinks he won’t be in jail for long, so once he’s released, he says I can return to Ukraine if I wish.” 

Feliks did two cartwheels in a row. “That’s three! Seventeen more!” 

“Are you going to do that?” Eduard asked. “I mean, you shouldn’t feel obligated to.” 

“Well, I’d have to figure out what to do with my teaching job,” Iryna said. “But, it might be fun to have a job that’s my hobby. Gardening has always brought me joy.” 

Eduard hesitated. Iryna was always an optimistic spirit, but he knew she deserved to know that her brother was putting her on a sinking ship. “I’m not sure how well  ** _Evergreen Garden_ ** ’s business will be after this whole ordeal,” he said. “Not many people will be likely to check out the shop after…”

“There’s no way Ivan will be released from prison as early as he thinks, so I was actually thinking if I stay to take care of the shop, I could do a little revamp,” Iryna said with a smile. “Make it something different, but familiar. Something new, but similar. Make it my own.” 

Feliks did several other cartwheels in a row. “Woo! Thirteen to go! I think I’m getting the hang of this again!” 

“Feliks, please be careful,” Tolys said, still following Feliks around. “You could seriously get hurt!” 

“Would...Ivan be okay with that?” Eduard asked Iryna. 

Iryna shrugged. “He’s lost some jurisdiction on that, correct? I mean, he would want what’s best for the shop, right? So if I revamped, and renamed the shop, it would be what’s best.” 

Eduard smiled. He was happy to see that Iryna already had ideas about what to do with the shop and turning it into  _ her  _ shop, not saving what her brother left in shambles. “Does this also mean you’re taking over the bar too?” 

Iryna’s eyes lit up in realization. “The one that was Feliks’? I guess so, but Ivan said nothing about that,” She smirked. “Ivan handed me a ripe opportunity unknowingly, didn’t he?” 

Eduard chuckled. “Sounds like it. If you need any help with it all, I’m sure everyone would be happy to help.” 

Suddenly, there was a loud, metal crashing sound and both Iryna and Eduard turned to see that Feliks had cartwheeled into a bunch of trash cans by accident. Tolys called after him, running to help him back up on his feet. 

“Are you okay? Didn’t I say--”

“I’m fine!” Feliks said, laughing at himself. He dusted himself off and turned around at the knocked over garbage cans. “Those trash cans aren’t, though. Where was I? I think I have 10 more cartwheels to go?” 

As he held his hands up to do another cartwheel, Tolys stopped him. “Or, we could save those 10 for another time, maybe?” 

Letting his hands fall to his sides, Feliks smiled. “Yeah, you’re right. I’m so out of practice that I got dizzy too quickly. Let’s go home,” Feliks turned to Eduard and Iryna, and waved, before taking a hold of Tolys’ hand. “You guys coming with?” 

Eduard and Iryna exchanged glances and nodded. “Yeah,” Eduard called after them, putting his hands in his pockets. “Wait for us!” 

As the four friends walked home, they finally felt that their lives could truly start to go back to normal. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The verdict has been made! We can finally breathe again! Not like any of us truly thought that justice wouldn't prevail. 
> 
> There will be a epilogue for this, and I'm hoping to have it done next week. If not, definitely in two weeks from now! Also, I'm doing my best to draft an idea for a proper sequel to London is Burning. It will involve most of the characters in my best fanfics, but also some new ones. I do not know when I will begin posting that yet, so I will be on a break after the prologue is up. Be on the lookout for it, though! 
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed this shorter chapter! And I hope you have enjoyed this story overall! Feel free to tell me what you think of this chapter! The epilogue will be up soon! 
> 
> -Katelyn (violinia)


	24. Epilogue

_ A year and a half later _

Time passes by slowly when your freedom is taken away. 

Ivan had expected to be released from prison much sooner. Much,  _ much _ sooner. Prison had changed him; made him harsher. Cynical.  _ Hateful _ . In order to survive that hellhole, he  _ had _ to become those things, he had to become someone who he never thought he’d become. In prison, he had to confront the very things he avoided most about himself. 

He wished he could go back and stop himself from ruining his life.

“Here are your clothes, Mr. Braginsky,” the guard said. She slid an airtight package with the clothes he wore the day he was brought to the prison inside. “And the rest of your belongings,” she added, sliding a bin with his wallet, keys, and such. 

“Thank you,” Ivan muttered. 

“You can use the bathroom over there to change if you wish,” she said. “Hurry up; there are others who are being released today.” 

Ivan said nothing; he had learned long ago there was no point in striking conversation or defending himself when it came to the guards. They weren’t trained to be courteous to the prisoners; they were trained to only keep them in line. 

Though it would have been easy to just change into his regular clothes where he was, Ivan decided to step into the bathroom for privacy’s sake. It had been so long since he had been granted a luxury, he wanted to take advantage of it. The lights flickered on and Ivan got a glimpse of himself for the first time in awhile in the dingy mirror above the sink. His face was a lot thinner than it had been before he entered the prison; his cheekbones were suddenly more pronounced than they ever had been. He knew he had lost weight while in prison, which in any other circumstance would have been a celebrated feature. However, in this instance, the weight loss only showed what he endured while incarcerated. That, and not to mention, the food was absolutely wretched, nearly impossible to eat; Ivan only ate it because it would be a waste if he didn’t. His old clothes seemed to hang on his body instead of framing a chubby, yet muscular build. 

Turning away from the mirror, Ivan sighed; he hardly recognized himself anymore. He missed his old self.

Once he was changed, the guards finally opened the doors for him to walk out of the building. As he stepped out, the sun blinded him immediately. It’s warmth and light was welcoming, and Ivan stood still to enjoy the moment. Though he and his other cellmates were allowed outside, it was only for a limited amount of time. Standing still just to enjoy the sun felt timed, and therefore, never felt genuine. But now, as a free man once again, he could stand there for as long as he liked and never feel rushed to enjoy the sun. 

Soon, he took a deep breath and sighed heavily, opening his eyes and looking ahead. Finally, he could leave all of the atrocities done in prison behind. He was a new man. Though he was given the option to call to have someone pick him up, he chose not to. Not only did he  _ not _ know Iryna’s number, since she never visited him, he knew that he had no one else to rely on. And besides:

A nice, long walk back to the city would do him good. 

Tolys awoke to the metronomic beeping of the alarm clock. Groaning, he reached over to hit the snooze button and fell back asleep rather quickly. At some point, Feliks had rolled over and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend, sleeping soundly. Five minutes passed and the alarm clock went off again, only to be promptly shut off by Tolys. He rolled onto his side, now facing Feliks, and wrapped his arms around him as well. It wasn’t long until the alarm clock went off again. 

“Why do we have an alarm clock?” Feliks asked, mumbling. 

“To help us wake up at an early time to take advantage of the many hours of the day,” Tolys mumbled back. 

“Can we unplug it?” 

“We both have things this morning. You have work, I have the interview…”

“I don’t see either of us getting up soon,” Feliks said; his voice was sounding less groggy the more he spoke. He pulled Tolys closer and nuzzled his face into Tolys’ neck. “Mornings are hard.” 

Tolys chuckled. “I’ll let you pick my outfit for the interview,” 

Just like that, Feliks quickly sat up as if he had just heard the best news of his life. “Really?!” he asked, grinning. His hair was everywhere, frazzled, and it was a silly sight to see.

Tolys laughed. “Yeah, I don’t see why not?” 

Feliks climbed out of bed and rushed over to Tolys’ dresser, pulling out clothes frantically as he tried to think what would go best together. Slowly but surely, Tolys got up out of bed and began his morning routine by heading to the bathroom to brush his teeth and wash his face. Patting his face dry with a towel, he wandered back into the bedroom to find five different outfits Feliks had picked for him. 

“Okay, I narrowed it down to 5,” Feliks stated, proudly. 

“How many did you have before that?” Tolys asked. 

“Um...about...10? I think?” Feliks smiled. “So yeah, I narrowed it down. I have a feeling which one you’re gonna pick, though.” 

Tolys took a moment to look at the outfits, the different colored shirts paired with basic black pants along with different colorful ties. He gravitated towards the outfit on the end: a white shirt with black pants and a colorful tie with flowers on it. “This one,” he confirmed, pointing to it. 

“I knew you’d pick that one,” Feliks said, grinning. He began putting the clothes away by first folding them up and putting them back in their respective drawers. Once finished, he then went to begin his morning routine (which was far more extensive than Tolys’). 

Buttoning his shirt, Tolys tried to mentally prepare himself for the interview with a local news station. About a few months after Natalya’s trial, Eduard approached Tolys about making his story a book. There had been several other offers; there had been many authors who came to Tolys, hoping to strike a book deal with him. It made more sense to work with Eduard, as they were friends and Eduard already knew plenty of the information, meaning he wouldn’t have to ask too many questions. Eduard would also know when Tolys needed a break. Other authors would pry and pry, trying to get every single detail because they were just  _ so _ curious. 

The book was published a year after Natalya’s trial, and it was an immediate hit. It became the best selling book in Poland almost overnight, and once it was translated, it became a best selling book worldwide. Tolys was shocked at its success; he could hardly fathom that so many people around the world would want to hear his story. It was absolutely mind boggling. 

By the time Tolys was dressed, Feliks had stepped out of the bathroom and gone over to his dresser to pick his work clothes. He quickly got dressed and took time to brush his hair before stepping closer to Tolys to make sure his outfit looked perfect.

“Feliks, I think everything looks okay,” Tolys said. Feliks was always obsessed with ties whenever Tolys wore them. And Tolys couldn’t deny it; Feliks knew how to make the tie look absolutely perfect. 

After a few tries, that is. 

“I’m just fixing your tie!” Feliks said with a smile. 

“I know, but you’ve fixed it a thousand times by now,” Tolys replied, laughing a little. 

“Well, I’m making it a thousand and one times,” Feliks ran his hands over the tie one last time, smoothing it out before letting his hands rest on Tolys’ chest. “There, you look so handsome,” he added. Standing up on his toes, Feliks kissed Tolys’ cheek. “How are you feeling?” 

Tolys took a deep breath. “Nervous, but what else is new?” he said, laughing a bit. 

“Did you take your medicine?” 

“Yep,” 

“Okay, good. Maybe rethink having coffee this morning? It might make you jittery.” 

Tolys nodded in agreement, but sighed. His mind was still foggy from sleep and he always relied on coffee to clear that fog. But he knew Feliks was right; caffeine and nerves never mixed well. The idea of being interviewed was nerve wracking enough; he didn’t need extra jitters added into the mix. “Yeah, I’ll wait until after the interview to have some,” he then said. 

“How about I make us some tea instead? That’s better than nothing, right?” Feliks offered. He sighed with content and smiled. “I’ll get started on that. When do you need to be there? 10:00? Do I have enough time to make some breakfast?” 

“I think you’re more pressed for time than I am,” Tolys mentioned. “Don’t you have to be at the market by 9:30?” 

“Well, yeah, but I wanted to make muffins,” Feliks said, pouting a little. 

“We can make muffins another day,” Tolys suggested. Stepping out of the bedroom, he wandered into the kitchen and turned the stove on. “How about some eggs and toast?” 

“I got the toast!” 

Together, the two of them made a small breakfast for each other. They had to be quick, as they were running behind; there was a time this would have really bothered Tolys. But after Natalya and Ivan were incarcerated, Tolys found himself becoming more relaxed in his work and schedule. If he showed up to a clients house one minute late, it wasn’t a big deal. Actually, most of his clients said that he was still on time; they didn’t care. Besides, he and Feliks weren’t running  _ that _ late; just two minutes behind. They would still get to where they needed to be in a timely manner. 

Once they had finished making their breakfast, they hurried out to the car, carrying their eggs on toast with them. As Tolys backed out of the driveway, Feliks bit into his meal and gasped for he had burnt his tongue. After a few seconds, he took another bite and smiled; it was the perfect temperature. 

Arriving at Feliks’ work, the small shop Iryna had completely reworked into a booming market, Tolys parked the car briefly. “Want me to keep you posted on how the interview goes?” he asked as Feliks unfastened his seatbelt. 

“If you want,” Feliks said. “Don’t feel obligated.” 

Tolys smiled; he knew Feliks would want to know any of the cool things Tolys would see on or behind the set. “I’ll text you the details,” he added, watching Feliks c;imb out of the car. 

“Okay!” Feliks said. “Remember to do some breathing exercises to clear your mind before the interview!” He closed the door and began walking into the shop, but stopped in his tracks. Turning around, he managed to open the door to the car before Tolys drove off and jumped back in. 

“What are y--?” Tolys began before Feliks kissed him. 

“I forgot our goodbye kiss!” Feliks said, grinning. He kissed Tolys again. “I love you.” 

Tolys smiled. “I love you too,” He reached up and poked Feliks’ nose. “Boop.” 

Feliks poked Tolys’ nose back. “Boop,” Stepping out of the car, Feliks waved. “Good luck with your interview! And remember to breathe!” He concluded as he closed the door. 

Tolys smiled and laughed to himself as he put the car back into drive and merged into traffic. The drive to the news studio wasn’t long, but as he stepped out of the car and walked towards the entrance, he could feel his heart pounding out of his chest. Wandering into the building, he began looking for Eduard, who was supposed to be there for the interview as well. 

“Mr. Laurinaitis?” 

Tolys turned to see one of the assistants approach him, pressing their headset into their ear so they could hear what was being instructed to them. “You can follow me, sir,” they then added, turning away. “I apologize for the rush, but we had some switching around done with one of our segments so your interview was pushed up a bit.” 

“W-why wasn’t I--?” Tolys asked. 

“It was on my to do list,” the assistant answered. “But I’m swamped. I’m sorry,” They gestured to two empty seats, and waved over the makeup artist. “Alicja is going to make sure you look great for the camera. In the meantime, I’m going to give Mr. von Bock a call. Hopefully he is already on the way.” 

A young woman with bright, fluorescent pink hair quickly rushed over and began brushing powder over Tolys’ face, without warning. Taken aback, Tolys coughed and moved away. The woman scowled and harshly told him not to fidget while she was doing his makeup. Tolys apologized quietly, tensing up, and did his best to remain still as the woman continued to aggressively apply his makeup. 

Once she was finished, the assistant from before had come back, this time with Eduard, who must’ve  _ just _ walked into the building. Eduard sat down in the seat beside Tolys and without missing a beat, Alicja began powdering his face too, except Eduard didn’t even flinch. Soon, other assistants came over to give them their portable microphones while others were adjusting the lighting and the cameras. 

“This place is a madhouse, isn’t it?” Eduard asked. 

“It really is,” Tolys said, leaning back in his seat. “I can’t imagine doing this everyday. So much stress just to get the news out is crazy to me.” 

Before Eduard could reply, a news anchor took a seat across from them and flipped her hair to the side. She looked over her questions that she was supposed to ask, muttering to herself before looking up and waiting for her cue. 

The bustle in the studio came to a slow down as a countdown began when they were to be back on air. The anchorwoman smiled warmly to the camera. “Welcome back, everyone. My name is Zuzanna Jankowski and today with us we have Tolys Laurinaitis and Eduard von Bock, the two men behind the successful book titled:  _ Marionette: Surviving the Puppeteer _ ,” the woman announced. “If you have not read it yet, the book follows Mr. Laurinaitis’ life when he was dating Natalya Arlovskaya, the woman who was convicted for the murders of numerous men in Warsaw, and when he worked for her brother, Ivan Braginsky, who was her accomplice,” Zuzanna turned to Tolys and smiled. “So, Mr. Laurinaitis, how do you feel now that you have told all of Poland and the world your story?” 

“Miss Iryna, Feliks is eating all of the free samples again!” 

** _Evergreen Gardens_ ** had gone through a huge revamp within the year and a half since the trial. The shop was no longer just a flower and houseplant shop, but now a small market filled with various in-season fruits, vegetables and baked goods. Iryna, not knowing anything about the business or how to run a business, was a natural when it came to new ideas for the shop. She came up with new products to sell, special goods that could be made after turning the old office into a kitchen, and even a new name:  ** _Sophia’s Market_ ** . With the guidance of Tolys,  ** _Sophia’s Market _ ** was a success.

The market became a popular place; there was hardly ever a time when it was close to being empty. 

Feliks, needing extra income in addition to the income (and tips!) he received from his nighttime performances, worked part time in Iryna’s new shop. Iryna taught him how to do everything; sow the seeds, how to water each plant properly, how to politely approach a customer, how to make tiny samples. Feliks loved his new job at the shop. 

“To be fair, three customers tried some!” Feliks said, trying to defend himself. 

“You still ate the majority of the free samples,” Raivis said, crossing his arms. 

“Yeah, like, the last two remaining pieces.” 

“It’s okay, it’s okay!” Iryna said. She stepped out of the kitchen, holding a brand new tray of free samples. “That’s why I’m always making extra!” She smiled. “I know you really like these little truffles, Feliks, but try not to eat too many, okay?” 

“You got it!” Feliks agreed, taking the tray away from her. “I’ll be sure that the only people eating these are customers!” 

“Wonderful! And Raivis, I need you to check the plants in the greenhouse out back. Make sure they are all healthy and watered. And take any ripe vegetables out and clean them so we put them out on display.” 

Raivis nodded. “Got it, Miss Iryna!” 

“Of course, if you have any questions--” 

“Don’t hesitate to ask, got it!” Feliks and Raivis said simultaneously with smiles. 

Iryna laughed to herself and made her way to the front of the shop to man the cashier. Feliks wandered in and out of the aisles of the small shop, stopping occasionally when a customer gave an interested glance at the tasty treats on the tray. Many would happily take a sample, but others would decline, animatedly claiming they were on a diet. Soon, the tray was empty again, and Feliks made his way to set the tray back in the kitchen. Thinking that Raivis had picked some vegetables and needed help carrying them out to the front of the shop, he walked into the greenhouse. 

Meanwhile, the long line up front had disappeared, and it seemed like Iryna had a brief break until more customers were ready to check out. On the cashier’s counter, she kept a copy of Eduard’s book that covered the Puppeteer’s case, told from Tolys’ point of view. It was called  _ Marionette: Surviving the Puppeteer _ . Iryna was about halfway through the book, and though she knew the majority of the story, she could not believe the abuse Tolys endured in the early part of his relationship with Natalya. Tolys left no details out as he told his story, and his story flourished in Eduard’s writing style. The description of the verbal and physical abuse was heartbreaking, and at times, triggering. Tolys spoke of the signs he did notice in the beginning, but tried not to think too much about them for the sake of “love.” Tolys also mentioned the intimidation tactics from Ivan, bringing Ivan’s true character to light. Unlike the judge who looked over the trial, Tolys did not give Ivan  _ any _ benefit of the doubt. Ivan was just as responsible for Tolys’ trauma as Natalya was. The book also served as a warning for what to look for in abusive relationships, particularly how to spot red flags and manipulation tactics.

Of course the book was dedicated to Tolys’ story, Feliks, Raivis and Iryna had also given accounts to help put the book together. Eduard had also spent endless nights researching psychology, criminology, interviewing the detectives and the psychiatrist who analyzed Natalya. Eduard worked incredibly hard on the book, putting his blood, sweat and tears into it.

The book was incredibly well-written, showing off Eduard’s impeccable writing skills. He truly was talented with pen and paper, and Iryna was happy that he was finally able to showcase that to the world instead of silly, meaningless blogs about pancakes or celebrity drama. The book had been translated into several languages and millions of copies were sold worldwide. When asked, Eduard hoped to cover other serial killers and criminals in his next work.

After a few minutes passed, Iryna set the book aside to find Feliks and Raivis carrying a crate filled with cucumbers so that they could restock. A customer gently placed a shopping basket with two tomatoes and a basket of strawberries. “Did you find everything okay?” Iryna asked the young woman. 

“Yes, thank you,” the woman answered with a bright, cheery smile. “By the way, I had the chance to taste those truffles. Did you make those?” 

Iryna nodded. “Yes, they’re made here! Dark chocolate truffles with a homemade raspberry jam filling!” 

“Oh my gosh, it was absolutely divine! Are you selling any of those?” 

“Yes! One box is 12.50!” Iryna opened the mini refrigerator behind the counter and pulled out a box of truffles. 

After the customer made their purchase, she gently picked up the bags and made her way for the door. “Do you have the recipes for all of your treats here? I bet you could make a fortune with a recipe book!” she said as she opened the door. 

Iryna laughed. “I’ll certainly think about it!” 

“Miss Iryna,” Raivis said. He and Feliks both approached the cash register counter. Feliks held onto the empty container. “All of the plants are watered, fruits and vegetables restocked and free samples handed out. Is there anything else we can do for you?” 

“Why don’t you two take a break? You’ve earned it,” Iryna replied. She checked the time. “Be back in an hour or so, okay?” 

Raivis’ eyes lit up in excitement. “A-are you sure, Miss Iryna? That’s a long time…” Though he had been working for Iryna for a year now, he was still not used to her overwhelming kindness. 

“Yes, I’m sure! You two are hard workers, and deserve to enjoy yourselves now and then.” 

“Is it okay if I hop over to the bar to practice on stage for my performance tonight?? It’s a wild one today. Gotta make sure my body is ready!” Feliks asked. 

“Sure; just be sure to lock back up when you’re done.” Iryna said. 

“Sweet! Thanks!” Feliks ran out the shop as quickly as he could and Raivis followed suit, heading in the opposite direction. 

Iryna smiled as she opened the book once again and took a seat, taking some more time to read. She soon was absorbed in the story, so absorbed that she hadn’t heard the door open and the door chimes ring. 

“Hey,” 

Iryna quickly looked up to see Eduard standing in front of her, smiling. She quickly stood up, set the book aside and gave him a kiss. “What are you doing here? I thought you and Tolys had an interview for TV?” 

“We did, and it ended well. Tolys got a text message from Feliks, and I think they’re going to meet up for a quick lunch,” he replied. He gently placed a newspaper on the counter. “I also managed to get a copy of tomorrow’s newspaper from a friend who works there. They wrote a pretty big piece about your market!” 

Spinning the newspaper around, Iryna saw that the headline was:  ** _Sophia’s Market_ ** _ flourishes!  _ Iryna laughed. “Did you have a hand in this?” she asked. 

“What? Of course not!” Eduard teased. “I did, however, suggest it. Your business is doing so well, it needs the spotlight.” 

Smiling, Iryna set the newspaper aside before kissing Eduard’s cheek. “You’re so sweet. Thank you.” 

“We’re still on for tonight?” Eduard asked, grinning. 

“Of course!” The two of them had been planning a date night for weeks, and today was finally the day. Iryna had an outfit (one to  _ surprise _ Eduard in the later hours of the evening) planned and everything; she was looking forward to their night out. 

“Great; the reservation at the restaurant is at 7:00. We’ll go there and then…?” Eduard said, his voice trailing off. 

“I think Feliks wanted us to see his show, at least. He told me it was going to be grand,” Iryna replied. 

“Right, right,  _ then _ …?” 

“We go home.” Iryna concluded with a wink. 

Eduard smirked as he took a few steps back and made his way to the exit. “Sounds like a plan! See you then!” 

Watching him leave the store, turning back to wave at her through the storefront window, Iryna smiled to herself. For years, she thought she would be happiest whenever her siblings reunited and were able to live near each other again. 

But it turned out differently than she could have ever anticipated. 

When she was younger and living in Ukraine, she would have never thought that she would be much happier as a woman who ran a small market in Warsaw. Never in a million years did she ever think she’d find happiness within herself or find a happy, healthy relationship. She never thought she deserved a life this good. 

She was thankful that her life finally came together.

“Arlovskaya!” 

Turning around in her seat and happy to be distracted from the  _ lousy _ card game she was playing with a senile old inmate, who was also her only “friend,” Natalya looked to the guard who had called her name. “What do you want?” she called back.

“You’ve got a letter,” the guard hissed. “Come get it.” 

Groaning, Natalya climbed out of the bench and approached the guard, snatching the envelope from him. “Your sister seems to write to you a lot,” he added. “Any particular reason why?” 

Natalya glared at him. “How the hell should I know?” she answered, walking away. She didn’t understand why her sister kept writing her letters when Natalya had made it clear to Iryna that she hated her.

“Is that for me?” the old woman asked. She pointed to the envelope with a shaky hand, hoping that Natalya would give it to her. 

“No,” Natalya answered. Normally, she’d toss Iryna’s letters in the trash, not even bothering to open them. However, being in prison meant that Natalya had a lot of time on her hands, and most of that time was spent on thinking. Maybe Iryna wasn’t as bad as she initially thought she was. 

A few weeks ago, when the previous letter came to her, she opened it and read its contents. Iryna said she was just reaching out to her younger sister, knowing that she must feel alone and wanted to try to at least keep her company with letters. It was hard for Natalya to understand where her sister was coming from; everyone absolutely hated her, so why was Iryna being  _ nice _ ? Especially given the fact that Natalya didn’t think twice about lunging after her in an attempt to kill her. Iryna had nothing to gain from being kind to her sister.

Natalya wrote back to her with: 

_ You’re just writing letters to me to make you feel better. I bet you say the same things to Vanya as well. Fuck off.  _

For whatever reason, Iryna still wrote back to her. Ripping open the envelope, Natalya unfolded the piece of paper and quickly read its contents. 

_ Dear Natalya, _

_ No, I do not write the same things to Ivan. In fact, I do not write to Ivan at all. I do not know what to think of him after everything was over. Perhaps I wished he had taken better care of you. Perhaps I expected too much of him without really knowing him. I don’t know.  _

_ So why do I write to you? _

_ I’m writing to you because, during the trial, I realized how lonely you must have felt your entire life. I do believe that you needed help when you were younger; all three of us did. What we went through was traumatic and required years of therapy to help us cope. But unfortunately, life has not been kind to any of us. Especially to you.  _

_ Now, please do not mistake my words; I do  _ ** _not_ ** _ think you should have gotten away with those murders. You killed those men and enjoyed every second of it. I do not doubt that in my mind. You deserved the sentencing you received. But I suppose I just wonder how differently the three of us would have turned out if our parents had never been killed or even if the three of us had been adopted by the same family. You had the roughest childhood out of the three of us, Natalya. And the person you are today is a result of that.  _

_ You never knew kindness. You never knew love. And though I know it may not change anything between us or you as a person, I want to reach out to you. I want you to know that, despite everything that has happened, you are still my sister. Which means you are still my family. Which means I still love and care about you, and I will always be here for you if you wish.  _

_ But if you want me to stop writing letters, I will do so. I just wanted you to know how I felt.  _

_ Take care.  _

_ Love, Iryna _

Natalya read the letter over and over, unsure of what to make of it. It didn’t make any sense; how could her sister claim she loved her if she knew that Natalya had committed horrible crimes? Why hadn’t Iryna done this  _ before _ everything? 

_ You pushed her away _ . Natalya thought. 

Iryna was right; her being kind to Natalya wouldn’t have changed anything, and it wouldn’t change Natalya as a person. But Natalya appreciated the gesture. After all, no one had ever made the effort to be kind to her. 

Well, except for Tolys. 

Standing up, Natalya approached the guard who had given her mail. “You got a pen and paper? I’d like to write back.” she said in a low voice. 

Saying nothing, the guard handed her a small piece of paper, an envelope and a dull pencil. Sitting down at an empty table, Natalya thought long and hard of what to write. Eventually, she simply wrote down two words:

_ Thank you. _

  
  


It was time for another show. A  _ big _ show. Feliks had done a few small shows here and there at different bars and clubs, but this was the first show at  _ his _ bar. Well, it wasn’t his bar any longer, nor was it Ivan’s. It was Iryna’s bar, and just like her brother’s shop, she renovated the bar and turned it into a success. Still, the bar felt like home to him. 

The door to his dressing room opened and Tolys stepped in. “Feliks? I’m supposed to tell you you’re on in ten,” 

“Seriously?!” Feliks said, turning around. He was combing through his hair as he was planning to do a lot of crazy flips and spins, a wig would just get in the way. “I could’ve sworn I had more time!” He froze, setting the brush aside. “By the way, I saw your interview on my lunch break. You’re a freaking natural on TV!” 

Tolys laughed. “Well, I’m glad you think so. The place was crazy when I got there; they were running ahead of schedule so I was rushed.” 

“Well, I couldn’t tell,” Feliks said, moving over to the clothing rack to try to figure out he was going to wear. Sifting through the clothes, he sighed. “Which one should I wear tonight?”

“I don’t know,” Tolys replied. He shrugged. “The red one?” 

Feliks smirked. “You always say that,” 

Tolys felt his shoulders tense up, his cheeks feeling warm. He had always liked the little red outfit; it seemed to be the most flattering. Plus, it always made his imagination run wild.. “Do I? I think I’ve only suggested it once or twice…”

“Nah,” Feliks pulled the red dress off of the rack and set it aside. “You suggest it all the time,” He paused, staring at the other outfits hanging on the rack. “Should I do a reveal tonight?”

“It wouldn’t be a Roksana Pierogi show if she didn’t show off everything she’s got,” Tolys answered. 

“Truuue,” Feliks said, grabbing a few more outfits off of the rack. “I think I’ve got a plan. Tell them I’ll be ready when I’m ready!” 

Tolys nodded, kissed Feliks’ cheek while he was distracted before making his way out of the room. “Good luck! Can’t wait to see the show!” 

“It’s gonna be FANTASTIC!” Feliks cheered as the door closed. He picked up the red outfit, smirked and hurried to put it on. 

Taking one last look in the mirror, Feliks was pleased with the silhouette that was presented. Being in contact with Francis by email, his new “drag sister” had walked him through how to make proper hip pads. Feliks had always been skeptical about padding in general; it had always seemed like too much work for little pay off. But after experimenting with hip pads, Feliks saw that it really did help his illusion. Now, he couldn’t wait to keep asking Francis for other tips as he wanted to keep elevating his drag to the next level. 

It was time for the show to begin. Someone dimmed the lights out in the bar and Roksana stepped on a dark stage. The music faded in, and when the vocals came in, the lights on the stage came on, Roksana struck a pose, mouthing along to the words. The song she was dancing and lip syncing to was one of her latest obsessions, but it also felt fitting. The song basically spoke of how good it was to rub how good your life was to others who despised you. It felt good to brag about how good you have it, especially since life had always been a struggle up until now. 

With a cartwheel into the first chorus, Roksana heard the audience cheer and clap along with the music. Happy that everyone seemed to be energetic as she was, Roksana played off of their energy. She strutted across the stage, jumped and danced, using every last bit of the stage. Occasionally she caught a glimpse of her friends, sitting on the side, smiling and cheering her on as she twirled around and around on stage. 

What a difference a year makes. 

When the bridge came, Roksana flipped upside down on her head, still moving her lips along with the lyrics. Her legs twisted in the air, the crowd amazed by how long she could stay there on her head. She then was back on her feet, clapping along with the beat, hyping up the audience. In the last chorus, Roksana did a split and managed to slide across the stage just a little bit, which made the audience cheer. When the song ended, she did a death drop, and the bar was filled with cheers and hollers. Roksana couldn’t help but smile and laugh to herself, proud of her performance. When the cheering died down, the next song began. 

Life was good again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! 
> 
> I apologize for this chapter being uploaded later than usual. I was nervous (and I still am nervous) about posting it because I wanted it to be perfect. This story was longer than any of the others, and a lot of work went into it. I wanted the ending to be perfect and satisfying. I'm not sure if I achieved that. I also hesitated in putting the segment with Natalya, but because Ivan got a segment, I thought it was only fair for her. 
> 
> Basically, I didn't want this story to end. 
> 
> I want to thank you all for coming along on this journey! Thank you for reading my story and being so encouraging. If it weren't for you and your support, this story wouldn't exist. I am planning to write another story that is connected to the "London is Burning" universe. It will be a proper sequel to London is Burning, with characters we've seen and some new characters. Of course, there's planning that must be done. I do not know when I will begin posting that story, as it's still in its early stages, but I'm hoping for mid-summer. 
> 
> By the way, what song was Roksana lipsyncing to? Well, "Sorry, Not Sorry" by Demi Lovato, of course. I thought the lyrics were very fitting for the ending of this story. 
> 
> I'm interested to know your thoughts on the epilogue and the ending! Did you like the story overall? Feel free to leave any comments or critiques down below. 
> 
> I hope all of you are doing well and staying safe and healthy! 
> 
> -Katelyn (violinia)

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys--it's been a long time since I've written anything. This is the LietPol fic I promised, like, a year ago after I finished "London is Burning." I didn't forget, it's just that there's is A LOT that went into this story, much more than I initially anticipated, and we are still wrapping up the last few chapters. 
> 
> A few warnings about this story before you continue reading:
> 
> 1\. There will be violence towards the later chapters of the fic.  
2\. There are some beloved characters in this story that will be depicted in a negative light.  
3\. Despite the light-hearted moments in this story, this has a lot of darker themes in comparison to my other fics. 
> 
> This story should be updated every other week; this will allow us some time to reread each chapter before we post them. We hope you enjoy this story! It hopefully will be very interesting to read! 
> 
> -Katelyn (violinia) and Ellie (TheCrystalFalls)
> 
> Edit 3 Oct. 2019: Just as an FYI, there will be NO major character deaths in this story!!! I repeat, NO DEATHS!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Bitwa o Warszawę](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25632283) by [medka](https://archiveofourown.org/users/medka/pseuds/medka), [violinia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/violinia/pseuds/violinia)


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